Let Me Help You
by imapunyasian
Summary: WARNING: lots of profanity. Sakura's dad abuses her and her mother died of an unknown disease.Syaoran tries to help her but she wont let him. Sakura then finds out that someone else is her father. What would happen to Sakura now?
1. Default Chapter

Let Me Help You  
Ch1 Prologue (AN: I know that Sakura's real last name is Kinomoto. If you keep on reading into the story then you'll find out why I used Avalon instead.)  
  
A cheerful, 9-year-old, Sakura Avalon was talking with her best friend, Tomoyo Daidouji, on the phone. "So can you come over tomorrow for dinner? My dad's making pasta." Sakura said.  
  
"Yeah. I just asked my mom and she agreed." Tomoyo replied.  
  
"Cool. Now we get to have a chance to plan our picnic on Saturday. Only three more days till we get to go on the picnic and Mom and Dad's going to be there. Is Aunt Sonomi coming to the picnic, too?"  
  
"No. She has to work, but she told me that she's going to bake a cake before we go."  
  
"That's too bad. Okay, well see you tomorrow, Tomoyo."  
  
"Okay. Bye, Sakura."  
  
They both hung up the phone and Sakura walked to her kitchen. She found her father, Nick Avalon, there cooking dinner with her mother, Nadesiko, by his side. "Hi! What are we going to be eating for dinner?" Sakura asked.  
  
"You'll see." Her father said with a smile on his face.  
  
"It's a surprise." Her mother told Sakura.  
  
Suddenly Nadesiko dropped the knife she was holding onto the counter. She was holding her head with both of her hands. Her eyes were closed tightly and she cried in pain. "What's the matter. Mom?" Sakura asked, "Are you alright?"  
  
"What happened?" Nick asked, "Sakura, call a doctor now!"  
  
Sakura did what she was told with a worried expression on her face. "An ambulance is coming. Hold on, Mommy." Sakura said. Nadesiko was now on the floor still holding her head screaming with pain. "Is Mommy going to be okay?" Sakura asked her father frightened of losing her mother.  
  
"Of course she is. She's got to be." Nick replied.  
  
When the ambulance came they got Nadesiko inside the car and drove to the hospital. At the hospital they took her to the operation room leaving Sakura and her father waiting and scared. Nick called Sonomi, Tomoyo's mother, about what happened and she quickly drove to he hospital.  
  
"What happened, Sakura?" Tomoyo asked when they arrived.  
  
"I don't know. She just collapsed and she said her head hurts." Sakura said in between tears.  
  
"Don't worry. It'll be all right." Tomoyo said.  
  
They waited for hours and hours in front of the operation room. Sakura cried herself to sleep with Tomoyo next to her. More hours have passed till the doctor finally came out. "How is she, Doctor?" Nick asked.  
  
"I'm sorry, but she's not going to make it." The doctor said.  
  
Nick was in total disbelief. By this time Sakura was already awake. She heard what the Doctor said and was just sitting down on a chair looking on the floor without a tear in her eyes. Sonomi was on the floor crying with Tomoyo hugging Sakura. "There were some viruses attacking her brain cells and then her heart just stopped. We're not sure what really happened. We have a permission form and I was wondering if we could analyze your wife." The doctor said. 


	2. The New Guy

Let Me Help You Ch2 The New Guy  
  
9 years later (When Sakura's a senior in high school)  
  
A girl with emerald eyes and auburn hair was studying her math book for her test while her math teacher was taking attendance. She's Sakura Avalon. Sakura didn't notice that her teacher was making an announcement. "Everyone. We have a new student in our class. Please welcome, Syaoran Li." Mr. Terada, their teacher, said.  
  
A boy about 6 ft tall with amber eyes and messy brown hair walked into the classroom. All of the girls were head over heels over this guy. He had a cute face, a muscular body, and a smile that would melt any girls' hearts. "Everyone, meet Syaoran Li. He came here from Hong Kong and would be here till the end of the school year. We'll have you sit behind Sakura Avalon. Sakura, may you please raise your hand." Mr. Terada said.  
  
Sakura heard what her teacher told her to do and raised her hand without looking up. Syaoran saw her hand go up and walked to the desk behind her. "Hi, I'm Syaoran Li." Syaoran said when he sat in his desk.  
  
Sakura heard a guy saying something to her, but she just ignored him. Syaoran noticed that she didn't say anything back so he assumed that she didn't hear him. He repeated what he said to Sakura. Sakura was annoyed at this guy who wouldn't leave her alone. "Fuck off." Sakura said and that was the end of their little conversation. He was reading a book while other people were taking the test. After the bell rang everyone turned in their test and got ready to get to their next class. "Was the test hard?" Syaoran asked Sakura.  
  
This guy now irritated Sakura. "You know what. I don't know who the hell you are and I don't intend to, so why don't you leave me alone?" Sakura said.  
  
Then she quickly walked away to her next class. Syaoran was amused. Usually girls would be drooling over him, but this girl was doing the exact opposite. He wanted to know more about her and was curious on why she's always so unhappy.  
  
Syaoran walked to his next class and saw Sakura there, too. He was introduced to the class and was placed, again, behind Sakura. She didn't even give him a glance and was staring at the board where their teacher was teaching on. The entire class time Syaoran was in deep thought about Sakura. It wasn't that he liked her, but it was that he admired her. He admired how every one of the girls in this school liked him, but her. He admired how her eyes were a deep green pool and shines, sort or when light hits a piece of emerald. She made him want to know more about her.  
  
After the bell rang for them to go to break, Syaoran followed Sakura hoping to know her better. Sakura noticed that he was following her. "Why the hell are you following me? Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?" Sakura asked angrily.  
  
"I was wondering if you can show me around the school." Syaoran said.  
  
"Do I look like a fucking tourist guide to you? Why don't you ask one of those girls over there to show you around? I'm sure they'll be glad to do it." Sakura said pointing to a group of girls who were looking at Syaoran the entire time.  
  
Sakura then walked away to the cherry tree where Tomoyo was. "Wasn't that Syaoran Li that you were talking to that time?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"If you mean that fucking bastard who keeps on following me then yes, that is him." Sakura replied.  
  
"What's the matter, Sakura?"  
  
"He just fucking pisses me off. That's all."  
  
"Hi, Sakura!" Xander Beil said.  
  
Xander has been in love with Sakura since the beginning of high school. He never liked her personality, but he always thought she was hot. He treats her nice hoping that one-day she'll be his girlfriend.  
  
"Fuck off, Sander." Sakura said.  
  
"It's Xander."  
  
"Do you think I really care?"  
  
"Well, you see there's a dance this Friday and."  
  
"And let me guess. You're too ugly to get a date. Am I right?" Sakura interrupted.  
  
"Well actually I was wondering if you would like to go with me."  
  
"Not a chance in hell. Since you got your answer you can take your stupid ass back to where your other little friends are."  
  
Tomoyo was trying her best to hold back her laughter. She didn't really like her insulting everybody all the time, but she does have a funny way of doing it. Tomoyo didn't really mind her cussing out Xander, because he is annoying even if he acts really nice to Sakura they both know that he's really mean inside.  
  
When Xander heard what she said he had a frown on his face, but he ignored it. "Well I guess I'll be going now. Bye, Sakura." Xander said he turned the other way towards his friends. 'Damn bitch. I'll get you if it's the last thing I do.' Xander said in his head.  
  
The bell rang and Sakura headed for her PE class after saying bye to Tomoyo. When her teacher finished taking role Sakura went to the locker room to change into their PE clothes. Their T-shirt had big bold orange words saying TOKYO HIGH and there was green at the end of the sleeves. Their shorts were up to the middle of their thigh and it was all black.  
  
When Sakura was done she walked over to where all her classmates were. "Today's your run day so I need you all to go to that fence to stretch out." Ms. Zel said.  
  
They all did what she said. "Syaoran, do you want to run with us or do you want to help me record their times?" Ms. Zel asked.  
  
"I'm fine. I'll just run with you." Syaoran replied.  
  
"Okay then. Everyone on the track field." Ms. Zel said.  
  
They walked over to the track field and formed a line. "Syaoran, for every lap you make you have to get a stick from me. When you get 4 sticks, you stop and I'll give you your time. When everyone is done you show me your sticks and tell me what your time is." Ms. Zel said.  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Now get ready. Begin!" Ms. Zel said and everyone started running.  
  
Ms. Zel could see that Syaoran was really fast. Sakura would usually be 35 ft ahead of her classmates, but now Syaoran is right next to her. Sakura and Syaoran has already made 2 laps and it's only been a minute and 29 seconds. There were almost done with their last lap, but you could see that Sakura's gaining her speed a little. Syaoran was amazed at how fast she was. They stopped in front of their teacher and grabbed their last stick. "Sakura, 4 minutes and 2 seconds. Syaoran, 4 minutes and 3 seconds." Ms. Zel said.  
  
Sakura walked out of the track field and she sat on the grass. Syaoran followed behind her. "You're really fast." Syaoran said.  
  
"Why won't you leave me alone?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Because I think you're an interesting person."  
  
"Yeah, right. If you want to bother someone can you bother other people besides me?"  
  
"But I'm doing such a good job with you."  
  
"All right. If you don't fucking leave me alone, I swear I'll made you wish that you never set foot on Japan ever again." Sakura said.  
  
"All right. All right. I'll leave you alone." Syaoran said.  
  
"After everyone was done running their mile they recorded their time and headed back to the locker room. Sakura changed into her school uniform, which is a T-shirt with a little red tie and a block and green skirt that goes up to half her thigh. She was about to walk to her next class, when Kim Trane was blocking her way. Kim Trane has hated Sakura since the seventh grade. Sakura doesn't know why. She doesn't care because she could kick her ass anytime.  
  
"What the fuck do you want?" Sakura said.  
  
"I want you to stay away from him." Kim said.  
  
"Who the hell is him?"  
  
"Syaoran."  
  
"Ooh. You mean the fucking bastard that won't leave me alone. Well then, you don't have to worry about me. I hate the shit out of him. You can have his baby for all I care. Not if you'll excuse me I'm going to my computer class." Sakura said.  
  
"Then why are you always around him?"  
  
"Correction. He's always around me. I said I don't like him. I hate him. So leave me alone."  
  
"Yeah, right. I know you like him, but he's mine. So stay away from him."  
  
"Bullshit! God you fucking asshole. I told you I hate him. If you talk to me about that fucking bastard one more time I'm going to beat the crap out of you!"  
  
Sakura quickly walked past her. "Damn bitch." Sakura muttered to herself.  
  
The rest of the school day was normal. After the bell rang for them to go back home, Sakura saw four high school boys teasing a little girl. Sakura ran where they were and tried to defend the little girl.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing? If you lay one more finger on her, I'll beat the shit out of you!" Sakura said.  
  
"Yeah, right. You always say that, but I never see you actually do it." One of the guys said.  
  
"That's because nobody's stupid enough to make me do it."  
  
"All right then. Let's see how you can beat all four of us." Another guy said.  
  
Sakura quickly got down and used her right leg to kick one of the guy's leg and he fell down instantly. Then she got back up and did a cartwheel over to the next guy and kicked him in the head while punching the other guy next to him in the face. Those three guys were on the floor, one holding onto his leg and the other two holding onto their heads. There were one more guy left. She quickly punched him in the face, breaking his nose and then she kicked him in the stomach making him fall back on his ass. Sakura then looked at her watch and she has to run back home leaving the little girl behind. Syaoran was behind a tree and saw the whole thing. 'What just happened there?' Syaoran thought to himself. He tried to find Tomoyo to ask some questions about Sakura. He saw her with these other girls talking and walking at the same time. He ran up to her. "Hi. Are you Tomoyo, Sakura's friend?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Yeah, that's me." Tomoyo replied.  
  
"Can I talk to you alone?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Sure."  
  
They walked over to a nearby tree where they were alone.  
  
"I want to talk about Sakura. Why is she always so mean? I know she's actually really nice, because I saw her stand up for a little girl. But she hides it. Why?" Syaoran asked.  
  
Tomoyo saw he was really serious and wanted to know really badly. "It's a long story. Come to my house at 4:30 and I'll tell you and I want to show you something there." Tomoyo said.  
  
"Okay."  
  
Tomoyo gave him her address and walked back to where her friends were. 


	3. Secrets of Sakura Avalon

Let Me Help You Ch3 Secrets of Sakura Avalon  
  
Syaoran looked at the clock and noticed it was 4:15 in the afternoon. He told Wei, his guardian, that he was leaving and wasn't sure when he was coming back. Syaoran walked for a couple more minutes till he arrived at her house. Tomoyo's house was a big, white Victorian and there is a big garden in front of it. Syaoran walked over to the gate and rang the bell. There was a surveillance camera in front of the gate. When the camera stopped on Syaoran the gates opened. Syaoran walked past the garden and got to the front of the door. Syaoran was about to open the door, but Tomoyo opened it before him.  
  
"Hi, Syaoran. Come in." Tomoyo said with a serious face.  
  
Syaoran walked in and looked around. 'This place is pretty big, but my house at Hong Kong is 10 times bigger.' Syaoran thought. Tomoyo took him to the living room that has a big screen TV, a big couch, a coffee table, and a lot of vases and paintings. "Take a seat." Tomoyo said. Syaoran did as he was told.  
  
"About Sakura, why does she pretend to be so mean?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Look Syaoran." Tomoyo said.  
  
She opened the big screen TV and Syaoran saw a little girl that looked like Sakura. Only that the little girl was smiling. Syaoran saw the little girl in the TV blowing bubbles with her parents.  
  
"Is that Sakura?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Yes. See, she wasn't always so cold and distant." Tomoyo said.  
  
Tomoyo then took out 8 yearbooks. "This is when she was 9 years old." Tomoyo said and took one of the yearbooks out. She was pointing at one of the pictures in there. Syaoran saw a little girl all smiling and happy.  
  
"This is her when she's 10." She took out another yearbook and pointed at a picture of a girl with a smile on her face and a little Band- Aid on her forehead.  
  
"Why is there a Band-Aid on her forehead?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Her father hit her there." Tomoyo replied.  
  
"What?"  
  
Tomoyo ignored his reaction and kept on going. "This is when she's 11." The other picture had Sakura still smiling, but with a Band-Aid on her chin and a little bruise on her cheek.  
  
"Is that from her father, too?"  
  
"Yes. Here's a picture of her when she's 12." Tomoyo pointed at another picture of Sakura, but this time she wasn't smiling. She has an unemotional expression on her face. And she had a Band-Aid on her right cheek and her lip was cut.  
  
"This is Sakura when she's 13." Sakura had a little cut on top of her eyebrow and a little Band-Aid on her nose and a bruise on the bottom of her lip. She also had a little frown.  
  
"This is Sakura when she's 14." Sakura didn't have any cuts or bruises, but she did have a death glare that could scare anyone away.  
  
"What happened here?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Her body got used to getting cuts and bruises. Now she doesn't bruise that easily. The photographer tried to make her smile, but she wouldn't. He tried for at least 5 minutes till she gave him that death glare that made him stop." Tomoyo replied.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"This is her when she's 15." Sakura looked the same as when she was 14, but then Syaoran looked at her eyes. They were not of anger, but of loneliness. The pictures of Sakura when she was 16 and 17 were all the same.  
  
"Tomoyo, I was wondering if I could keep the picture of Sakura when she's 15." Syaoran said.  
  
"Sure." Tomoyo said.  
  
"But why was Sakura like this?" Syaoran asked.  
  
Tomoyo hesitated a little bit, then opened her mouth. "Her parents were always nice and loving, but after her mother died of an unknown disease when Sakura was 9 years old everything changed. Her father started to drink a lot and then he would go on and on about how he thinks Sakura killed her own mother. Her mother gave birth to her when she was really young, but that's not the reason why she died. I know it isn't. Sakura's father would hit her and kick her. When she was 10 to 13 years old she always had bruises and cuts like when you saw the pictures, because of her father. She told our teachers that she was really clumsy and always fell down. Now you can't see the bruises, because she got used to it. I told her to call the police, but she wouldn't let me. She thinks that one day her father would turn back to the way it used to be."  
  
Syaoran was now speechless. He didn't know what to say. 'This is how her life is?" Syaoran asked himself.  
  
"How does she know martial arts?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"It was when we were only 5 years old that she started martial arts. We were watching a Chinese ancient custom movie with all these people doing martial arts. When Sakura saw the movie she wanted to learn martial arts and protect her parents. So her father gave her martial arts lessons. When she was 10 her father thought of canceling the lessons, but my mother convinced him not to. You see my mother and Sakura's mother are sisters, if it was someone else trying to convince him it wouldn't work. My mother doesn't know about how Sakura's father is always hitting her. Sakura doesn't want her to know."  
  
"But that still doesn't explain why she's so mean to everyone."  
  
"Sakura started acting this way when she was 12 years old. She was in the cheerleading team before, but then she quitted, because she thought she had to take care of her father more. Sakura acts this way because she wants everyone to hate her. If they hate her then no one would know about this. She also doesn't want to be friends with any of them. She's afraid that another person that she loves would treat her the way her father does. She's also afraid that maybe another person she loves would die like her mother.  
  
"Why don't you help her?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Sakura wouldn't let me."  
  
"That doesn't matter. You're her friend. You should have helped her. If you won't I will." Syaoran ran out the door with the yearbook and left. 'Her father can't do that to her. It's even against the law." Syaoran thought. Syaoran kept on running until he noticed that he didn't know where he was running. He stopped in front of a park and sat down on a bench. He opened the yearbook and say a page filled with the student's wishes. He looked for Sakura's name and saw it at the very bottom of the page. He say it say Daddy's love. Syaoran knew what he had to do. He had to go and talk to Sakura's dad. The only problem is that he doesn't know where she lives. So Syaoran took out his cell phone and called Wei.  
  
"Wei it's me, Syaoran. I want you to find a girl's phone number. Her name is Tomoyo Daidouji." Syaoran said and waited for Wei to get the number.  
  
"It's 536-4296, Master Li." Wei said.  
  
"Thank you, Wei." Syaoran said and hung up. Syaoran knew the best way of finding Sakura's address is to ask Tomoyo. Syaoran then called Tomoyo.  
  
"Hi Tomoyo, its Syaoran. Sorry for running off like that, but can you tell me what's Sakura's address?"  
  
"Why do you want to know?"  
  
"Just tell me."  
  
At first Tomoyo hesitated, but she told him where it was. Tomoyo gave hi directions to Sakura's house and then hung up.  
  
Syaoran took Tomoyo's directions and stood in front of a tall apartment building. He remembered that Tomoyo told him that Sakura's room number is 37. He walked over to room 37 and saw the door already opened. Syaoran looked inside and heard a guy yelling. He knocked on the door and came in. Syaoran walked into a small apartment and stood in front of a room, where he saw a man in his thirties hitting a girl with a belt. The girl was on the floor with her eyes closed, but he couldn't see any tears. Syaoran suddenly realized that the girl was Sakura. He couldn't stand having this guy, who must be her father, hitting Sakura. He went in the room and grabbed the belt out of the guy's hands. "Stop it." Syaoran said.  
  
Sakura opened her eyes and saw Syaoran. "Who the hell are you?" the guy asked.  
  
"I'm Syaoran Li." 


	4. Syaoran Meets the Father

Let Me Help You Ch4 Syaoran Meets the Father  
  
"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked.  
  
"I know about you and your dad, Sakura." Syaoran said.  
  
"What? How did you . Tomoyo. Damn you nosy bitch! Mind your own business. This has nothing to do with you!" Sakura said.  
  
"You know this boy, Sakura?" the guy said.  
  
"Yes, Dad." Sakura replied.  
  
"I'm not your dad. I told you that already. I have no daughter." Sakura's father said.  
  
"How can you say that to her?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"I thought I told you to mind your own business. Get out, Syaoran!" Sakura said.  
  
"No, Sakura. I have to talk to your dad." Syaoran said.  
  
"Why don't you just leave me alone?" Sakura said.  
  
"Why do you want to talk to me?" her father asked.  
  
"I want to know why you treat Sakura like that."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Like she's your worst enemy."  
  
"Sakura, you told him?" her father asked.  
  
"No. Someone else told me." Syaoran said.  
  
"Why do you care how I treat my slave?"  
  
"She's not your slave! She's your daughter!"  
  
"Not anymore. She's my slave now and I can do anything I want to her." Her father said and kicked Sakura on the leg.  
  
"Stop that!" Syaoran said.  
  
"Sakura, leave us alone." Her father said.  
  
"But." Sakura said.  
  
"No buts! Do as I say!"  
  
Sakura quickly left the room leaving her father and Syaoran alone.  
  
"How can you treat your own daughter like that? We even treat dogs better than that!" Syaoran said.  
  
"Because she killed her mother!"  
  
"No she didn't. How did she kill her own mother?"  
  
"My wife gave birth to her when she was really young."  
  
"That's not the reason. It was because of you and your wife that made her give birth when she's that young. You and your wife did something together that made Sakura. So it's not Sakura's fault." Syaoran said and then his eyes wandered inside a trashcan that had a ripped picture of a girl that looked like Sakura, but has long gray hair.  
  
"Is that your wife?" Syaoran asked pointing to the ripped picture.  
  
Sakura's father looked at where Syaoran was pointing at and saw the picture. He quickly kicked over the trashcan so that you can't see the picture.  
  
"No, it isn't." her father lied.  
  
Syaoran then remembered the video that Tomoyo showed him. The girl in the picture was the same person as the girl in the video. 'She must be the mother.' Syaoran thought. He then smiled.  
  
"What are you smiling about?" her father said.  
  
"I know the real reason why you treat Sakura like that." Syaoran replied.  
  
"I already told you the real reason why!"  
  
"That wasn't the real reason. You think Sakura's mother abandoned you and Sakura looks just like her mother. You put all your anger from Sakura's mother on Sakura. That's the real reason why."  
  
"That's a lie!"  
  
"No, it isn't. You know it's the truth. Don't deny it."  
  
"It's not the truth!"  
  
"Yes, it is. Stop treating Sakura like this. She doesn't deserve it one bit. Nobody deserves it."  
  
"What if I still treat her like this? What are you going to do about it?"  
  
"I'll call the police. This is against the law."  
  
Sakura heard Syaoran say that he'll call the police and quickly ran into the room.  
  
"Don't call the police! Leave Syaoran. If I find out that you call the police on my dad, I'll never forgive you!" Sakura said.  
  
"But why? Why do you let him do that to you?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Because he's my dad! Syaoran leave." Sakura said.  
  
Syaoran stood there for a second then left the room.  
  
"Come here you little bitch! How dare you tell him about us?" Her father said and pulled Sakura's hair back.  
  
"I didn't. I swear I didn't." Sakura said in pain.  
  
"Do you think I'll believe you?" her father said and threw her on the ground.  
  
The next day Syaoran walked into the class late. He said sorry to Mr. Terada and sat in his seat. The entire class time Syaoran was thinking about the time when he was at Sakura's house. 'What should I do now? Sakura probably hates me now. Well, more than he did before. I think I'll talk to her after class.' Syaoran thought. A few minutes later the bell finally rang. Syaoran followed Sakura out the door. "Sakura! Sakura, wait up." Syaoran said.  
  
Sakura kept on walking. Syaoran noticed that she was ignoring him so he ran in front of Sakura. "Leave me alone." Sakura said with coldness in her voice.  
  
"I need to talk to you." Syaoran said.  
  
"Well, I don't."  
  
"Why, Sakura?"  
  
"Why what?"  
  
"Why do you let your dad treat you like that?" 


	5. Broken Friendship

Let Me Help You  
Ch5 Broken Friendship  
  
"I already told you why." Sakura said.  
  
"So what if he's your father?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"So I have to stay with him no matter what."  
  
"No, you don't. He's not supposed to treat you like that."  
  
"What does this have anything to do with you?"  
  
"I'm just worried about you."  
  
Sakura was surprised at what he said. "You're lying. You just met me yesterday." Sakura said.  
  
"No, I'm not lying."  
  
"I have to get to class." Sakura said and walked away.  
  
Syaoran caught up to her and took her hand. "Come on. We should run or we'll be late. "Syaoran said and ran still holding onto her hand. Sakura ran with him. When they got to class Sakura noticed that she was still holding onto Syaoran's hand. Sakura quickly let go of his hand and walked to her seat. Syaoran sat next to her. "Hey, Syaoran. Are you and Sakura together?" this boy sitting next to him said.  
  
"No we're just friends." Syaoran said.  
  
"Yeah, right. I'm warning you. She has a real bad temper."  
  
"Hey, shut up. She's not like that if you get to know her."  
  
"Woah. Chill out. I thought you out of all people would agree since she was yelling at you yesterday."  
  
"That's none of your business."  
  
After the bell rang for break Syaoran started following Sakura. "Why are you always following me?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Well, why do you always avoid me?"  
  
"Because you're annoying."  
  
Xander was nearby and thought that this was the perfect time to get Sakura. "Hey, leave Sakura alone." Xander said.  
  
"What does this have anything to do with you?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Ha, look who's talking." Sakura said.  
  
"Get away from Sakura or else." Xander said.  
  
"Or else what?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"You know I can kick your ass anytime. I don't think I need your help." Sakura said to Xander.  
  
Xander ignored what Sakura said and he said, "Or else I'll beat the crap out of you."  
  
"I'd like to see you try." Syaoran said.  
  
Xander got really angry and tried to jump on Syaoran, Syaoran already kicked him in the crotch. Xander was on the floor in pain and was covering his crotch with his hands. When the little fight started, Sakura was already walking away, not caring that they were fighting. Kim saw her and ran after her. "I thought I told you to stay away from Syaoran?" Kim said.  
  
"Damn bitch, he's the one around me. Do you think I want to be around him? Hell no. So leave me alone." Sakura said.  
  
"Yeah, right. I heard you two were holding hands."  
  
"You're hopeless. I swear. Believe what you want just leave me alone."  
  
"No. Not until you promise me to stay away from him."  
  
Sakura just lost it. She was swinging her fist right in front of Kim's face, but she stopped a few centimeters away from her nose when she realized what she was doing. "You say one more word about this to me and I swear, I'm really going to break your nose." Sakura said.  
  
Kim was really frightened. She quickly ran away from Sakura and to her friends. Sakura walked to Tomoyo and sat down on the floor. "Why, Tomoyo?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Why what?" Tomoyo asked confusedly.  
  
"Why did you tell Syaoran about me?"  
  
"How did you know?"  
  
"It's pretty obvious. He just came to my house telling me that he knows about my dad and I."  
  
"Oh my god. I'm so sorry, Sakura."  
  
"I thought you could keep this a secret. I guess not. Now I'm not sure if we could keep this friendship. " Sakura said and stood up.  
  
"No, Sakura. I just wanted to help."  
  
"How can you help by telling Syaoran about me?"  
  
"I don't know. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Sakura."  
  
"I am, too. I don't think I can trust you anymore. Bye, Tomoyo." Sakura said and left.  
  
Tomoyo fell down on her knees and cried.  
  
Syaoran tried to find Sakura at her usual place after the fight, but he only saw Tomoyo. "What's the matter, Tomoyo?" Syaoran asked when he noticed her crying.  
  
"I shouldn't have told you. Why did you have to go to her house? Now we're not friends anymore." Tomoyo said in between tears.  
  
"What? What do you mean? You're not friends with Sakura anymore? Syaoran asked.  
  
"Why did you go to Sakura's house? I shouldn't have told you this." Tomoyo said.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Tomoyo."  
  
"It doesn't matter now. Just leave." Tomoyo said.  
  
Syaoran felt really bad and left. Now he really had to fins Sakura. He has so many questions that he needs to ask her. Syaoran knew that this was none of his business, but he felt like he just had to do something about Sakura and her father. He kept on running and searching for Sakura. Unfortunately, the bell rang before he could find her. The he remembered that he has his next class with her. He quickly ran to the gym trying to see if Sakura was here yet. Syaoran looked around but he couldn't find her until he saw her walking slowly in the gym. He ran up to Sakura. "Sakura, why aren't you friends with Tomoyo anymore?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"You know, sometimes the less you know, the better." Sakura said.  
  
"That doesn't answer my question."  
  
"I guess you didn't understand me. The relationship between Tomoyo and I is none of your business."  
  
"Then I'll make it my business."  
  
"You got too much time in your hands. Do you love making my life more miserable than it is now?"  
  
"I just want to help you."  
  
"I don't nee your help. I don't need anyone's help. I can take care of everything by myself. I don't need you or Tomoyo or anyone else's help. And if you tell anyone about my dad and I, I swear, I would make your life a living hell." Sakura said and walked away. 


	6. The Mysterious Present

Let Me Help You Ch6 The Mysterious Present  
  
After school, Syaoran decided to walk home by himself. He was walking past a supply store and heard a familiar voice. He looked inside the store and saw Tomoyo there, about to get out.  
  
"Hey, Tomoyo, I'm really sorry about what happened with you and Sakura." Syaoran said.  
  
Tomoyo looked at who was talking to her and saw Syaoran.  
  
"It's okay. It's not your fault. I'm sorry for saying that to you at school. I was just taken aback about what happened between us." Tomoyo said.  
  
"What did you buy?"  
  
Syaoran saw Tomoyo holding a bag.  
  
"Oh, just some needles and threads."  
  
"May I ask why you bought them?"  
  
"I'm going to make Sakura a beautiful dress for her birthday. I also hope that she forgives me."  
  
"Oh. When's Sakura's birthday?"  
  
"Its tomorrow."  
  
"Are you going to have enough time to make a dress by tomorrow?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure I will, but only if I start on it right now. I have to go right now, okay?" Bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Tomoyo walked to a black limousine with four people in the car. Syaoran just thought that they were her sisters or something, even though they're actually her bodyguards.  
  
Syaoran thought of getting Sakura a birthday present, too. He figured that since Sakura's name means cherry blossom in English then Sakura would like something with cherry blossoms. Syaoran walked into a jewelry store and looked around for a couple of minutes until he finally found the perfect jewelry. It was a locket shaped of a cherry blossom with a silver chain attached to it. He quickly walked back home and placed the locket down. Syaoran suddenly remembered that he forgot to get a card, so her called for Wei. "Wei, can you go and get me a sweet and sensitive birthday card and. how about a dozen nadeshiko flowers?" Syaoran requested.  
  
"All right, Master." Wei replied and walked out the door.  
  
Syaoran thought if getting Sakura nadeshiko flowers in honor of Sakura's mother. He took out the locket from the little box that it was in and looked at it. Syaoran opened the locket and saw a little mirror in it and a space for people to put a picture in. He then thought of writing a poem to Sakura. He went up to his room and started writing a poem.  
  
When he finished writing the poem, he folded it into a small piece of paper and placed it in the locket. By the time he was done, Wei had already came back with the card and the flowers. Syaoran took the flowers and the card. He read the card and then wrote on the card a little note and his signature. Syaoran placed the card and locket into a bag. It was already ten o' clock and so he got ready for bed. He would give the present to Sakura tomorrow at school.  
  
The next day at school, Sakura found a bouquet of flowers and a bag on her desk. She took out the card and read it. At the bottom of the card it wrote 'Happy Birthday, Sakura. I hope you like the present I bought you. Open the locket and read the paper. I'm sorry if I caused you any pain and you should still be friends with Tomoyo. Sincerely, Syaoran.' Sakura looked behind her and saw Syaoran reading a book. She took out a little box out from the bag and opened it. She saw a beautiful locket in the shape of a cherry blossom. Sakura opened the locket and found a folded piece of paper. She unfolded the paper and saw a poem there. Sakura read the poem quietly to herself.  
  
"Let Me Help You  
  
The young girl Once sweet and innocent In one swirl Turned mean and violent  
  
All because of her dad She loves him so dearly He causes her to be sad And treat her drearily  
  
Tried to help her She wouldn't let me Her mind's a blur She says, 'Leave me be.'  
  
I'll be there for her Through the bad and the good Help her heart be pure Like how a true friend would  
  
She has to let me be her friend Open up her kind, sweet heart I'll take all her pain to an end And let all her friendships start."  
  
(I wrote that poem all by myself I feel so special. ^_^ Even though it sorta sux but o well)  
  
Sakura was touched by the poem and knew that Syaoran is a true friend. She looked behind her again and saw Syaoran looking in front if the class. 'He looks pretty cute when he's not so annoying. Wait. What did I just say?' Sakura thought and looked back at the poem. "Ms. Avalon, may you please put away your things so then you can concentrate in class?" Mr. Terada said.  
  
"Oh, sorry." Sakura apologized and placed all of her things in her backpack and the bouquet on the floor.  
  
After class Sakura walked up to Syaoran. "Syaoran, thank you." Sakura said.  
  
"You're welcome. But Sakura, I meant what I wrote in the poem. If you need anyone to talk to, you can come to me. Turn back to your old self when you were about twelve years old. I bet your life would be much better if you smile once in a while. You say that you don't need anyone to worry about you, but you do. I know you do. Let me help you wash away your pain. Let me help you be happy again. Don't you think it's better than sulking around, being mad at everyone, and letting you dad mistreat you all the time? We only have one life. Let's make the best of it. Sooner or later we're going to die and I would want to be as happy as I can before I do. Wouldn't you?" Syaoran said.  
  
"I guess, but I can't I don't want people to know about my dad and i. Or someone would call the cops. I don't want my dad to go to jail. If he does I'll never forgive myself. I won't know what to do. Do you know what my mom said before she died?" Sakura asked.  
  
"No."  
  
"She told me to take care of my dad and that's exactly what I'm going to do. If I don't I'll let my mom down."  
  
"Do you think your mom wants you to be abused by your dad all the time? Do you think this is what she wants?"  
  
"I don't know, but I can't just leave my dad alone. I have to take care of him."  
  
Sakura didn't want to talk about this anymore and started running towards her next class. For the rest of the school time, they haven't said to each other at all.  
  
When Sakura got back home she couldn't find her father so she started doing some chores. All of a sudden the doorbell rang. She went to the door and looked through the eyehole to see who it was. She saw the deliveryman holding a box. She opened the door. "Package for Avalon, Sakura." The deliveryman said.  
  
"That's me." Sakura said.  
  
"Sign your name over here."  
  
Sakura signed her name and took the package. The guy left and Sakura took the package to her room. She opened the package and saw a beautiful pink dress. She took out the dress and knew it fitted her perfectly. The dress was pink silk with cherry blossoms at the bottom right corner of the dress. It went down to her ankle and was sleeveless. At the top of the dress, where the neck goes through, is white and is the shape of a V. Also, inside the package had a card. She took the card and read it. "Sakura, I hope you like this dress and happy birthday. I'm so very sorry for telling Syaoran about you and your dad. I hope you can forgive me. I know I don't deserve to be your friend, but if you could find it in your heart to be my friend again, I would be truly grateful. If you forgive me then can you come to my house at four o' clock? My mother also wants to give you something. Truly sorry, Tomoyo." She read.  
  
Sakura knew that breaking Tomoyo and her friendship was a stupid thing to do. She made a stupid and rash decision and regretted it. If it weren't for Tomoyo, she wouldn't have withstood all the torture her dad put her through. She looked at the clock and saw it was 3:30. She wrote a note to her dad and left to Tomoyo's house.  
  
When she arrived there she walked in and saw Tomoyo waiting for her. "Hi, Tomoyo." Sakura said.  
  
"Oh Sakura, thank god you're here. I was afraid you wouldn't come. Come in, Sakura." Tomoyo said.  
  
"Tomoyo, I'm so sorry for breaking our friendship. I overreacted. I hope you can forgive me." Sakura said and went inside the house.  
  
"You don't need to apologize. I was the one who lost your trust. I'm sorry." Tomoyo said.  
  
"It's okay. I love the dress you got me. Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome. I want you to wear it to the prom that's in two months."  
  
"But I might not be going to the prom."  
  
"What? No. Sakura, you have to go to the prom. Come on. It'll be fun."  
  
"I'll think about it."  
  
"Hello, Sakura. It's been a long time since we talked." Sonomi, Tomoyo's mom, said when she saw Sakura.  
  
"Hi. What was it that you wanted to show me?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Oh, yes. Tomoyo, may you please get us some tea and take your time. I need to talk to Sakura alone." Sakura said.  
  
"Sure, Mom." Tomoyo said.  
  
Sonomi took out a locked book that was pink.  
  
"Sakura, this was your mother's diary. Your mother told me to give this to you when you're eighteen a long time ago. Don't show this to your father, though. Your mother wants you and only you to read this. So when you get back home you have to hide this in a safe place." Sonomi said and handed the diary to Sakura.  
  
Sakura just kept on staring at it. A few minutes later Sakura got out of her trance and thanked Sonomi.  
  
"If you don't mind, I think I'm going to go now." Sakura said.  
  
"All right." Sonomi said and Sakura walked out the door.  
  
Sakura walked to the park and sat down on a bench. She opened the diary using the key that was stuck on to the diary by tape. Sakura looked inside the diary and read the date. It was when he mother was fifteen years old. Then Sakura started reading what her mother wrote. 


	7. The Painful Secret

Let Me Help You Ch7 The Painful Secret  
  
"August 28, 1984  
  
My boyfriend, Fujitaka Kinomoto, just met my parents for the very first time and, thank god, they liked him. Even though Fujitaka is a charmer. I'm so excited about tomorrow. I'm going to take Fujitaka to a picnic in the beautiful park next to a lake. It would be so romantic.  
  
"September 1, 1984  
  
My birthday is going to be on the sixteenth. Only fifteen more days after today till I become sixteen. For the past three months, it seems like everything's going my way. I hope this feeling never lasts. I've been going out with Fujitaka for over a year now. He's so sweet.  
  
"September 9, 1984  
  
Only seven more days after today till my birthday. I can't wait. Fujitaka says that he has a surprise for me. I wonder what it is. It's weird. I like surprises, but I also hate them. They get me so excited, but impatient at the same time.  
  
"September 15, 1984  
  
Tomorrow's my birthday. I'm extremely excited now. I can't even go to sleep. I already got a dress that I could wear for tomorrow. It's a red spaghetti strapped dress that goes down to my knees. It has beautiful little flowers on the top right corner of the dress. I have red high heels along with it. I wonder where we're going for my birthday anyway.  
  
"September 17, 1984  
  
Oh my god. I'm in big trouble. Fujitaka took me to a club to dance. It was great, but then I started drinking. Fujitaka told me not to, but I wouldn't listen. I think I went really out of control, because when I woke up I was naked in Fujitaka's bed with only his blanket to cover me. I saw Fujitaka there next to me. I quickly put on my clothes and left without saying good-bye. When I came home I told my parents that I was staying at a friend's place and forgot to call. Of course I didn't tell my parents what really happened. They'll kick me out of the house if I did. I just hope they never find out.  
  
"October 6, 1984  
  
I feel so strange lately. I've been throwing up in the morning, I'm always dizzy, and I seem to be always hungry. I don't know what's wrong with me. I probably just ate something bad.  
  
"October 23, 1984  
  
Am I a bad person? Fujitaka is such a perfect man, but for some reason, I don't feel the same way about him as he does for me. I think I have fallen in love with another man. He's Nick Avalon. He has all the traits of Fujitaka, but he brings out this spark that just lights up my day. I know I shouldn't like another man when I already have a boyfriend. That's why I'm going to break up with him tomorrow. I hope he doesn't take it really hard.  
  
"November 11, 1984  
  
Nick just asked me out. I'm so excited. Fujitaka took the break up pretty well. He told me to have a great life even though it wouldn't be with him. He's so sweet, but I'm doing the right thing.  
  
"November 26, 1984  
  
I'm still throwing up in the morning. What's wrong with me? Nick and I have only been going out for 2 weeks, but everyday seems better and better. I'm wondering if I should take our relationship to the next level. I know we're really young, but it just feels right. My stomach has been growing a little bit bigger. I need to lose some weight.  
  
"December 6, 1984  
  
Only a few more days till Christmas. I can't wait. I'm going to be at nick's house for Christmas. It'll be great and his parents would be out of town.  
  
"December 26, 1984  
  
We did it. We took it to the next level. It was great. It felt right to do it with Nick. The only problem was that I threw up in the morning at nick's bathroom. He thought I was sick or something. Now I have to go to the doctor to see if there's anything wrong with me. I told my parents I was sleeping over at a friend's house again. Thank god they believed me.  
  
"January 16, 1985  
  
I'm in big trouble now. I just found out I'm pregnant. The doctor said I was for four months. No wonder my stomach was getting so big. But how am I going to tell my parents and Nick. I know who the father of my baby is. It's Fujitaka, but I don't want him to be the father. Then Nick would leave me. I'll have to say that nick is the father.  
  
"January 30, 1985  
  
I finally told Nick that I was pregnant with his child. He took it pretty well and decided that we should get married. My parents were disappointed of me when I told them, but they offered to help. I'm so lucky. I thought I would be kicked out of the house immediately. " Sakura read.  
  
Sakura couldn't believe it. She was the daughter of this Kinomoto guy. Sakura couldn't read anymore of this. She closed the diary and ran back home. When she got back she couldn't find her father. Sakura quickly hid the diary under her bed, but she forgot to get the key out of the keyhole.  
  
The next day was Saturday. Tomoyo called Sakura early in the morning. "Hello, Sakura. Come to the school so we can help prepare for the dance. It'll be fun. Come on." Tomoyo said.  
  
"I'm tired Tomoyo. Let me go to sleep." Sakura mumbled.  
  
"No, you have to come. Remember in the sixth grade when we decorated for the dance. It was beautiful. Everyone said it was. Come on, Sakura. The dance would look beautiful if we do it together again. Come on. I won't stop bugging you if you don't come."  
  
"All right. All right. I'll go, but if the dance looks ugly don't blame me."  
  
"Yay. Don't worry Sakura. It'll look beautiful. Come at 8 AM."  
  
"Bye Tomoyo. "  
  
"All right, bye."  
  
Sakura slowly got up and took a quick shower. When she was done it was already 7:30 AM, so she quickly got ready. She wore a pink tank top with blue jeans. She had a blue bandanna on her head along with it. Sakura didn't wear her uniforms since it was a Saturday and she was only volunteering to help with the dance. Sakura looked at the locket Syaoran gave her. She looked at the back of it and saw her initials carved on it. Sakura decided to wear it today. She looked at herself in the mirror and was satisfied. She looked at the clock again and it was 7:50 so she put on her pink roller blades, wrote a note to her father and skated towards the school. She arrived to the school just in time and met up with Tomoyo.  
  
"Where did you get that necklace, Sakura?" Tomoyo asked when she saw the locket.  
  
"Oh, Syaoran gave it to me for my birthday." Sakura replied.  
  
"How sweet. It looks beautiful on you."  
  
"Thanks, Tomoyo. After this can we walk to the park? I need to tell you something really important."  
  
"Oh, is anything the matter?"  
  
"No, everything's fine. I just need to tell you something."  
  
"Oh, okay."  
  
"Hey, Sakura. You're helping with the dance, too?" Xander asked.  
  
"Why else would we be here?" Sakura said.  
  
"Go away Xander." Tomoyo said in a disgusted look.  
  
"No, that's okay. I'm helping out with the dance, too." Xander said.  
  
"Great. Then the dance would definitely look ugly." Sakura said.  
  
"Don't worry. I'll be the one fixing Tomoyo's mistakes." Xander said.  
  
"Excuse me. No, I'm going to be the one fixing your mistakes." Tomoyo said.  
  
"Whatever. Anyway, what part of the dance are you going to be helping at?" Xander said.  
  
"I'm not sure yet." Sakura replied.  
  
"Well, you better sign up now, because most of the spots are already taken." Xander said.  
  
"Then I guess I'll be going then, bye." Sakura said and took Tomoyo's hand with her without waiting for Xander to say good-bye to her.  
  
When they got to the sign up sheet the only places that needed help were decorating and getting a DJ. Unfortunately, there's one room for one person each, so Tomoyo and Sakura would be helping with different things. Sakura looked at who else was helping with decorating. There on the list was Chiharu, David, Rika, Takashi, Naoko, Gabriel, Brenda, and Xander. On the other list for getting a DJ had Larry, Patrick, Michael, Syaoran, Kim, Natalise, Stephanie, and Jenny.  
  
"Damn. Why can't Xander be helping with the DJ? Then we can both help out with decorations." Sakura complained.  
  
"Here, why don't you help out with the DJ and I'll help with the decorations? Then you don't have to be around Xander."  
  
"Is that going to be all right with you?" Sakura asked.  
  
"It's all right. Besides, I love to decorate."  
  
"Okay."  
  
They both went their separate ways. Tomoyo went to the gym so she could help decorate it. Sakura walked to the leadership room so they could discuss about the DJ.  
  
~ Leadership Room ~  
  
When Sakura got to the Leadership Room she saw everyone already there in their seat discussing about their budget. The only seat left was the one next to Syaoran, so she took her seat. "We need all of you to find a DJ that would work for $500 or less an hour. I don't care how you find the DJ as long as you get one by Monday. You have to bring all the information to us and we'll pick one out of all of yours. Whoever gets the DJ that we pick won't have to pay for the pictures they take at the dance. It doesn't matter how many times they take the pictures. If one of you could get a guess star that could sing at the dance for under $1000 would be great. That's all for now, but remember the songs can not have any improper language in it." Mr. Terada said.  
  
After he was done talking, everyone went back home. Sakura was going to the gym to find Tomoyo. "I'm sorry, Sakura, but I have to stay here to help." Tomoyo said.  
  
"Okay. Can I go to your house to use the Internet? I have to find a DJ."  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Thanks, Tomoyo. Bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Sakura walked to Tomoyo's house by herself and noticed a couple of cherry trees along the way. She decided to climb up on one of the trees and relax there. She was sitting on a tree branch and closed her eyes. Sakura breathed in the clean fresh air and then opened up her eyes. She took one of the cherry blossoms and laid it on her palm. Sakura felt peaceful there and forgot about all of her problems. She decided to take a little nap there and closed her eyes. Once she fell asleep, her head tilted a little and her whole body fell off the tree.  
  
Syaoran was just walking back home and saw a figure falling off a cherry tree. He quickly ran to where the figure was and caught it before it fell to the ground. He looked at the figure and saw it was Sakura.  
  
Sakura felt herself falling and landed on something. She felt warm and safe in someone's arms, so she kept her eyes closed. Syaoran saw her eyes closed and thought that she was unconscious, so he decided to wake her up. "Sakura. Sakura, wake up." Syaoran said and slapped her face lightly for her to wake up.  
  
Sakura felt her head move and opened her eyes. When she did, she saw a pair of amber eyes looking at her. She realized it was Syaoran and quickly got out of his arms and stood on the floor. "What happened?" Sakura asked.  
  
"You fell from the tree and I caught you before you could fall down on the floor."  
  
"Oh. Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
"Why are you being nice to me?"  
  
"Is that a bad thing?"  
  
"No, but still."  
  
"Because I know you're really a good person inside and I want to help you show it."  
  
"How would you know I'm good? You just met me a few days ago."  
  
"Because I'm very good at judging people."  
  
"Yeah right."  
  
"I am."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"Why can't we just have a civilized conversation with each other without any intense questions going on? Like what's new going on in your life?"  
  
Sakura just remembered about her mom's diary and how she really wasn't her dad's daughter. "I have to go now." Sakura said.  
  
"Wait. Is it something I said?"  
  
"No. Everything's fine. I just remembered something. Bye."  
  
"Remember, Sakura. If you need me, I'll always be there for you. I can help you with your problems."  
  
"No, you can't."  
  
"How is that?"  
  
"Because my problems are complicating. You don't need to be there for me."  
  
"I know, but I want to."  
  
"Bye, Syaoran."  
  
"Why do you always have to be so stubborn?"  
  
"That's how I am."  
  
Sakura quickly left to her house forgetting to go to Tomoyo's house. When she got home she saw her father holding onto a book. She then noticed it was her mother's diary. 


	8. Disowned

Let Me Help You Ch8 Disowned  
  
"Where did you get this?" her father asked.  
  
Sakura just stood there, in front of the door. She didn't know what to do. Many things were going through her mind. 'I can't tell him it was Sonomi who gave me the diary. She told me not to show this to him and now he has it. What should I say? How did he find it? What's going to happen to me now?' Sakura thought.  
  
"Answer me!" Her father yelled.  
  
"I can't tell you." Sakura finally said.  
  
"Yes, you can. If you don't, I'll beat the crap out of you."  
  
"I can't!" Sakura said with her head down.  
  
"Tell me, Bitch." Nick said and grabbed her by her hair.  
  
"No."  
  
Nick pushed her down and slapped her hard. I'll keep on hitting you until you tell me." He said and slapped her again. Nick started kicking her and then he took her by the arm and threw her against a wall. Sakura didn't even make a noise when he threw her. "Tell me, Bitch!" Nick yelled angrily and took her head and slammed it on the wall. It all happened so fast to Sakura. Everything then started to get blurry and she fell unconscious. "You bitch, wake up and tell me who gave this to you! Nick said to her unconscious body. 'She's not my fucking daughter and I took care of her for so long. I'll just dump her out and disown her." Nick thought. He took her body out of her apartment and threw her to the ground behind some bushes making sure nobody saw him. Then he took all of her things and threw it on her keeping the diary.  
  
When Sakura finally woke up she was in a warm, comfortable bed. Her head was aching and she felt a big bruise on the back of her head. The room she was in was dark. Suddenly, the door of the room opened and a tall figure appeared. "So, you're finally awake." The figure said.  
  
Sakura recognized the voice. It was Syaoran.  
  
"What happened? Why am I here? Where am I?" Sakura asked.  
  
"This is my house. I found you outside of your apartment building unconscious with all of your things next to you, so I took you to my home. What happened to you? Did your father abuse you again?"  
  
"It's none of your business. Where's my."  
  
"Stop saying it's none of my business! Sakura, you're my friend. Of course it's my business when I see a friend lying on the ground unconscious. You got to get help."  
  
"But I don't need any help. I've got everything under control."  
  
"No. You don't. If you did then you wouldn't have been abused for all these years. Sakura, don't let him do this to you. You're letting him ruining your life. WE only have one life to live. Why don't you make the best of it? Or it might be too late. Now tell me what happened to you. Maybe I can help."  
  
Sakura hesitated for a bit, but told him what happened. After she finished explaining everything to him, Syaoran was furious. "How can he do that to you? We have to call the cops. He almost killed you." Syaoran said.  
  
"No, don't call the cops."  
  
"Why not? I don't get it. He's done this to you since you were little. Don't you hate him?"  
  
"No. I love him. Besides he's like this because Mother died. And Mother died because of me."  
  
"It's not because of you. It's not."  
  
"How would you know?"  
  
"I just do."  
  
"Then why else would he act like this?"  
  
"It's because you look so much like your mother and so you remind him of her."  
  
"Isn't that a good thing?"  
  
"No, because he thinks that your mother abandoned him. He blames your mother for abandoning him. That's why."  
  
"That couldn't be it."  
  
"It is it. Plus he's not your real father so you don't have to deal with this."  
  
"He may not be my real father, but he raised me. I can't just leave him."  
  
"Well, isn't it better than having him beating you up all the time?"  
  
"If I did leave him, where would I go? Where do I stay?"  
  
"You could stay here, if you want. Or you can stay at Tomoyo's house. I'm sure she won't mind."  
  
"No, I can't stay at her house or Sonomi would find out about everything."  
  
"Well then stay here."  
  
"No, I'm not even going to leave him."  
  
"So you're just going to let him ruin your life?"  
  
"Yes. Where are my things? I'm going to go now."  
  
"No, you have to rest."  
  
"Where are my things?"  
  
Syaoran sighed and said "It's over there nest to the door. Do you want me to drive you to your house?"  
  
"No, I'm going to walk there."  
  
"But you can't carry all those things to there."  
  
"Yes, I can." Sakura said and took her stuff out the door, leaving Syaoran in the room. Sakura walked to her house and opened the door. She saw her father sitting down on the couch drinking his beer. "What are you doing back here? Have you called the cops yet?" Nick asked.  
  
"What are you talking about? I live here and I wouldn't call the cops." Sakura said.  
  
"You don't live here anymore. I disowned you. You're not even my daughter in the first place. So scram. Get out of my house."  
  
Sakura was in shock. She dropped her things on the floor. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "No, you're kidding right?" Sakura said.  
  
"You should know by now that I don't' kid. Get out of my house and give me the key."  
  
Sakura had no choice. She put the key on a table. "Where's my mother's diary?" Sakura asked.  
  
"It's with me." Nick said holding onto the diary.  
  
"Give it to me."  
  
"No. It's mine now."  
  
"No! Give it back to me. You can hit me you can kick me but you can't take that away from me. Take anything but that. Please give it back to me." Sakura pleaded.  
  
"No. You're not getting this." Nick said and stood up.  
  
Sakura had no choice but to get it by force. That diary belonged to her mother and she wouldn't let him take it away. She quickly kicked him in the stomach. Before he could fall to the ground Sakura got the diary and whispered sorry to him. She ran out the door with her things in her hand. Sakura ran without knowing where she was running to. When she finally stopped, she was in the park again. It was dark, but there were streetlights there. 'What should I do now? I can't go back to my house and I can't go to Tomoyo's house. I don't want to go back to Syaoran's house. What should I do?' Sakura thought. She was scared. She had no place to live. She finally decided to go to Tomoyo's house. She had no choice but to go to her house.  
  
When Sakura got to Tomoyo's house she rang the doorbell. They allowed her in and she told Tomoyo's exactly what happened. Tomoyo was crying for Sakura. "Oh, Sakura. Why didn't you tell me sooner? I can't believe he did that to you. Are you okay, Sakura?" Tomoyo said.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. You don't have to worry. Can I stay here for a while?"  
  
"Sure. You can stay here as long as you want. If you need anything just call Mary, my maid."  
  
"Okay. Don't tell your mom about this. Just say that umm. Nick was out on a business meeting at Europe and he doesn't want me to be alone or something like that."  
  
"Alright. Don't worry Sakura I won't tell my mom."  
  
"Okay. Thanks Tomoyo."  
  
"No problem. Leave everything to me. You can sleep here." Tomoyo said and pointed to one of the rooms in her house.  
  
"Okay. Good night."  
  
"Good night, Sakura."  
  
Tomoyo walked back to her room and decided to call Syaoran and tell him about this. She took her phone and called him. "Hello?" A voice said in the other line.  
  
"Hello. This is Tomoyo. May I please speak to Syaoran?"  
  
"Yes. Please wait a minute."  
  
"Hello?" Syaoran said.  
  
"Syaoran, this is Tomoyo. I want to talk to you about Sakura."  
  
"What about Sakura? Is she alright?"  
  
"Yeah, she's fine. She's at my house right now. She told me that her father disowned her and kicked her out of her house."  
  
"What? How can that happen? This isn't right. Did you call the cops?"  
  
"No. Sakura told me not to."  
  
"I don't get any of this. Why does Sakura's life have to be so complicating? She doesn't deserve this at all."  
  
"Poor Sakura. I wish I could help her."  
  
"Maybe we can. Did she tell you about her mother's diary?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Well maybe we can try to find out who her real father is."  
  
"I bet he would try to help Sakura."  
  
"That's a great idea."  
  
"Do you know what her father's name is?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Well then try to find out what his name is and tell me tomorrow. I'll then try to find out where he is and try to contact him."  
  
"Alright."  
  
"Don't tell this to Sakura though."  
  
"I know. Bye Syaoran."  
  
"Bye."  
  
They both hung up the phone and Tomoyo decided to ask Sakura tomorrow since Sakura must be really tired right now.  
  
The next day  
  
"Sakura are you up yet? It's time for breakfast." Tomoyo said outside of Sakura's door.  
  
"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute." Sakura said.  
  
"Okay. I'll wait for you down in the dining table."  
  
"Alright."  
  
When Sakura finished getting ready she walked down the stairs and into the dining room. She sat down in one of the chairs and saw big, delicious pancakes. "Wow. This looks delicious." Sakura said.  
  
"Eat as many as you want Sakura." Tomoyo said.  
  
"Thanks. Where's Aunt Sonomi?" Sakura asked.  
  
"She's at work. Sakura, if you don't mind me asking. What's your father's name?"  
  
Sakura stopped eating and looked at Tomoyo. "Why do you want to know?"  
  
"Just wondering."  
  
"It was Fujitaka Kinomoto."  
  
"Then I guess your name should be Sakura Kinomoto now."  
  
"No. It's going to just be Sakura."  
  
"What about your last name?"  
  
"It doesn't matter."  
  
"Okay. So what do you want to do today? It's Sunday so there's not much stuff to do in the house. Why don't we go get you new clothes or we can see a movie?"  
  
"That's a great idea."  
  
"Plus the prom would be in a couple of months. We should get some stuff for your hair and get some make up."  
  
"I don't think I'm going to go."  
  
"What? Sakura, it's the high school prom. How can you not go to your prom?"  
  
"Well I don't have anyone to go with and even if I did I don't feel like going."  
  
"You can have Syaoran go with you. You have to go Sakura. Come on. For me at least."  
  
"I'll think about it."  
  
"Okay. Come on Sakura. Let's go to the mall and buy you some new outfits plus some new shoes. Then we can go and watch a movie. You have to go out more. I heard there's a new amusement park opening next week. We can go there next Saturday. Now go and change your clothes."  
  
"Okay. Thanks for everything Tomoyo." Sakura said and went to her room.  
  
When Tomoyo saw her go in her room she quickly got the phone and dialed Syaoran's number. "Hello. May I speak to Syaoran?" Tomoyo said when someone picked up the phone.  
  
"Yes, wait for a moment."  
  
"Hello?" Syaoran said.  
  
"Syaoran this is Tomoyo. I can't talk long and I found out what Sakura's father's name is. It's Fujitaka Kinomoto. I have to go now. Bye."  
  
"Good job, Tomoyo. Bye."  
  
When Tomoyo hung up Sakura just got out of the room. For the rest of the day they shopped for some clothes and went to the movies. 


	9. The Letter

Let Me Help You  
Chapter 9  
The Letter  
  
"Fujitaka.Fujitaka." Syaoran rambled on in his room during the morning while looking for Sakura's biological father's name on the web, "damn, Kinomoto is such a common last name. Thank God Tomoyo told me what his first name is." Syaoran kept on looking until he found two names that are Fujitaka Kinomoto.  
  
"Let's see. Kinomoto, Fujitaka lives in New York City, thirty-five years old, reporter, not married, born from Tomoeda, Japan, moved to America when he was five. Okay. this sure isn't him. He's should still be in Japan when he's like eighteen or something.  
  
"Kinomoto, Fujitaka lives in Tomoeda, Japan, thirty-five years old, archaeologist, married, one son, born from Tomoeda, Japan. This must be her father. Wei!!!" Syaoran said.  
  
"Yes, Master Li." Wei said.  
  
"Can you track down Fujitaka, Kinomoto? He lives somewhere in Tomoeda. I want you to find out what street he lives in and his phone number."  
  
"Yes, Master Li." Wei said and left the room.  
  
After Wei left, Syaoran took the phone and called Tomoyo's number.  
  
~Tomoyo's house~  
  
Sakura was sitting in the sun at Tomoyo's backyard while Tomoyo was still changing her clothes in her room until Sakura heard the phone ring, so she went to go get it. "Hello?" Sakura said when she got the phone.  
  
"Hello, may I speak to Tomoyo?" Syaoran said on the other line.  
  
"She's busy right now. May I take a message?"  
  
"No, that's all right. I'll just call her back."  
  
"Okay, bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
"Who was that on the phone, Sakura?" Tomoyo asked when she just finished changing.  
  
"He was looking for you. I don't know who it was, but he said he'll call you back." Sakura replied.  
  
"Okay. Next time you don't have to pick up the phone. Just let them talk on the answering machine."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"So what do you want to do today?"  
  
"I don't know. Why don't you decide?"  
  
"Let's go. to the fair. I just remembered that there is a fair that just opened up a few blocks from here."  
  
"Okay then let's go."  
  
"We should invite more people. How about Syaoran?"  
  
"Nah. I don't think so."  
  
"Why not? I mean the more the merrier. Come on."  
  
"Fine. Go ahead and call him."  
  
"Great. I'll go call him right now."  
  
Tomoyo picked up her cell phone and called Syaoran.  
  
"Hello?" a guy said on the phone.  
  
"Hello, may I speak to Syaoran please?" Tomoyo said.  
  
"This is he."  
  
"Oh. Hi Syaoran, this is Tomoyo."  
  
"Tomoyo, I think Sakura's father lives right here. I'm getting Wei to find out what street he lives in."  
  
"That's terrific. Are you busy right now?"  
  
"I don't thinks so. Why?"  
  
"I was wondering if you could come with Sakura and me to the fair. The one that just opened."  
  
"Sure, I guess I can."  
  
"Perfect. Then we'll meet you in ten minutes okay?"  
  
"Okay bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
"Okay, Syaoran's coming." Tomoyo told Sakura after she hung up.  
  
"Then can we go now?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Wait. It's going to be really hot outside. Are you sure you want to wear jeans and a sweater to the fair?"  
  
"Yeah, that's fine by me."  
  
"Sakura, why don't you go change? I'll go help you."  
  
"No, that's fine."  
  
"Sakura, I insist." Tomoyo said while pushing Sakura up to her room.  
  
Tomoyo looked through Sakura's clothes and found what she was looking for. She gave the clothes to Sakura and told her to put it on. When Sakura finished changing they went to their car and drove to the fair. Sakura was wearing short blue shorts and a red spaghetti strap shirt.  
  
"Tomoyo, if I catch a cold I'm going to blame it on you." Sakura said.  
  
"Don't worry. It'll be so hot that you'll be thanking me for telling you to change."  
  
"Sure."  
  
As they arrived at the fair, they saw Syaoran already standing in front of the entrance.  
  
"Sorry, we took so long." Tomoyo apologized.  
  
"It's fine besides I just arrived here a minute ago." Syaoran said.  
  
"Come on. Let's get inside." Tomoyo said.  
  
They went in the fair and saw booths, food, Ferris wheels, roller coasters, and merry-go-rounds.  
  
"So where do you want to go first?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"I don't care." Sakura said.  
  
They kept on walking around the fair until Sakura saw a booth where if you throw a basketball into the hoop enough times then you get to win a stuffed animal. She remembered that her "father" used to win a stuffed animal for her by playing this.  
  
~Flashback~  
"Watch Sakura I'm going to make this shot for you." Nick said holding the basketball about to make a basket.  
  
Nick threw the basketball and it went in. He threw it again and again with a perfect basket.  
  
"Yay, Daddy!!!" a four year old Sakura said while seeing her father shooting one basket after another.  
  
Nick won a huge brown teddy bear and gave it to Sakura.  
  
"Here you go, Sakura." Nick said while giving the teddy bear to Sakura.  
  
"Thank you, Daddy. You're the best Daddy in the whole wide world." Sakura said with a big smile on her face.  
  
Nick took Sakura's hand and walked around the fair while Sakura was holding onto the huge teddy bear in her other hand close to her chest.  
  
~ End of flashback ~  
  
Syaoran saw Sakura staring at the booth, so he decided to win a stuffed animal for her.  
  
"Come on let's go to that booth over there." Syaoran said while pointing to the booth that Sakura was looking at.  
  
Sakura and Tomoyo followed him to the booth and watched him shoot one basket after another just like how Sakura's father was before. Syaoran won two stuffed animals and gave one to Tomoyo and one to Sakura.  
  
"Here Sakura." Syaoran said while offering the stuffed animal to Sakura.  
  
"No, that's okay Syaoran. I'm not into stuffed animals anymore. Just keep it." Sakura said.  
  
"Come on, Sakura. Take it." Syaoran said.  
  
"No, it's fine. Just keep it."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Okay."  
  
They kept on walking and went on roller coasters. Syaoran noticed that Sakura wasn't at all scared of roller coasters as she was just holding onto the rail and staring around with no excitement. After a minute the ride was over.  
  
"I'm tired. I'm going to go now okay." Sakura said.  
  
"Are you okay, Sakura? Are you sick?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"No, I'm fine."  
  
"Okay, let me take you to my place." Tomoyo said.  
  
"No, I'll just walk. It's not that far." Sakura said.  
  
"All right."  
  
As Sakura was about to walk away she saw Kim walk up to her.  
  
"See I knew it. You're trying to get with Syaoran. I mean why else would you be around him. You said you hated him. What a lie." Kim said to Sakura.  
  
"Go away, Kim." Sakura said.  
  
"What if I don't? Are you going to beat the shit out of me?" Kim asked.  
  
"I could, but it's not worth it." Sakura said.  
  
"In other words, you're afraid to."  
  
"No, I would just be wasting my time."  
  
"I'm warning you, Sakura. Stay away from Syaoran. How many times do I have to say it to you?"  
  
"You know what, if you like him so much then go bother him. Here let me give you a little push." Sakura said and took her by the wrist and dragged her to Syaoran.  
  
"Okay, Syaoran this is Kim. Kim this is Syaoran. Now stop bothering me." Sakura let go of Kim's wrist and walked away.  
  
"Hi, Syaoran. Sorry, about that." Kim said to Syaoran trying her best to flirt with him.  
  
Syaoran just ignored her and ran up to Sakura.  
  
"Sakura, are you okay?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? By the way, shouldn't you be with your doggy over there? You can even give her the stuffed animal. Isn't that so perfect." Sakura said sarcastically.  
  
"I'm sorry, Sakura. I'll tell her that we're just friends. Then she won't bother you." Syaoran said.  
  
"Hahaha. Even if you tell her that she would still think that I made you tell her that and still bother me. Now if you'll excuse me I'd like to walk alone." Sakura said.  
  
Syaoran decided to leave her alone and tell Kim that there's nothing between Sakura and him.  
  
"Kim." Syaoran said.  
  
"Yes, Syaoran? Do you want to go on a roller coaster or something? I'm sure it'll be much more fun with me than Sakura." Kim said.  
  
"No, that's okay. I just want you to know that there's nothing going on between Sakura and me. Sakura's my friend and I hope you stop bothering her." Syaoran said and walked with Tomoyo.  
  
"Don't worry, Syaoran. Someday you'll start to like me." Kim said to herself.  
  
While Sakura was walking, she saw many fathers with their kids holding hands and smiling. It made her remember the times she was with her dad like that and how she doesn't even know who her real dad is. She doesn't know what kind of person he is. He might be dead or poor. Her father could be mean and cruel. She didn't really care if he was poor or mean, but she was afraid that if she finds him but he won't want her. What If he doesn't want her to be his child then she wouldn't know what to do. She's afraid that he might hate her, because her mother dumped him and if he's dead she would never know how her real father's like.  
  
Sakura got back to Tomoyo's house and went to her room. She took out her mother's diary and opened it. While she was looking at her mother's diary she noticed a piece of paper was sticking out from it. It was an envelope with Sakura's name on it. Sakura opened the envelope and there was a letter inside and read it.  
  
"To my darling daughter Sakura,  
  
"By the time you read this poem I'm already dead. I didn't want to tell you that Nick really isn't your biological father, but you have the right to know. I'm so very sorry if I have caused you any pain by telling you this. I hope you aren't mad at me and if you are then I understand. You have every right to be mad at me, but I want you to know that I love you with all my heart. Don't let anything or anyone change who you are. Always be that cheerful, sweet, loving girl that I've always known. In this envelope is a picture of a man. That man is your biological father. Your biological father is a sweet man and very nice. I love you, Sakura.  
Your mother,  
Nadesiko"  
  
Sakura looked inside the envelope and found the picture. The man on the picture was tall, had auburn hair, brown eyes, wears glasses, and has a genuine smile. Sakura thought about what her mother wrote in the letter. Her mother wanted her to be cheerful and loving, but for the past thirteen years she was the complete opposite. She felt as if she didn't fulfil her mother's wish. She felt bad for doing the complete opposite of what she wanted. 


	10. Was that a Smile I See?

Let Me Help You  
Ch.10 Was that a Smile I See  
  
"Wei! Did you get the information I asked for you to get?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Yes, Master Li. Kinomoto, Fujitaka lives in 2543 Tomoeda, Japan. His phone number is 204-5522." Wei said.  
  
"Thanks, Wei." Syaoran said.  
  
Syaoran decided to send a letter to Sakura's biological father than to call him. He wrote:  
  
Dear Mr. Kinomoto,  
  
I am Syaoran Li. I have sent you this letter concerning about your ex- girlfriend from high school, Nadesiko. As you may or may not know, she is dead. However, she has a daughter named Sakura. That daughter was claimed as Nadesiko's husband's daughter, but that was a lie. Sakura is actually your daughter. I know this might sound strange and confusing, but it's the truth. I know this from Nadesiko's diary. Sakura was given this diary on her eighteenth birthday and in the diary she realized that she was a daughter of another man. If you do not believe what I am telling you then maybe we can have a blood test. Sakura has been living a terrible life since her mother past away. I am Sakura's friend and she does not know that I am writing this to you, yet. I hope you could write me back or you would be missing out on an opportunity to meet your biological daughter.  
Sincerely,  
Syaoran Li  
  
When Syaoran finished writing the letter he placed it in the envelope, told Wei to send it to Kinomoto's house, and left for school.  
  
~ Health Class ~  
  
"Today we're going to start on a new project. This is the first time we have done this and I really hope it will be a success. Your project is to go to Tomoeda Orphanage and become a little girl or little boy's brother or sister. We have already assigned you an orphan and you're going to have a partner. You're going to write everything in a journal that we will be passing out. You're allowed to take the orphan out of the orphanage, but you have to sign out first. There are some rules that you must follow. Most of them are the basics: you are not to smoking in front of them, harass them, drink alcohol beverages in front of them, always keep a good watch on them, etc. You're going to be doing this project till May 31 and each day you have to spend at least three hours with them. You and your partner always have to go together while with the orphan. If you don't have any questions I'll be passing out a folder telling you who your partner is and who your new little brother or sister is." Ms. Vong, their health teacher, said.  
  
Nobody asked any questions, so she started passing out the folders. As Sakura got hers, she opened it up and saw a picture of a little girl. She had brown eyes and black hair that went a little above her waist. She seemed very skinny, but she had a big smile on her face. Her name was Liu, Wu Deep. She was born in China and her mother moved to Japan and died of leukemia, her father died in China of lung cancer. Wu Deep is six years old and born on May 30. She's been in the orphanage since she was one year old. Sakura's partner is Li, Syaoran. As Sakura saw Syaoran's name, she automatically slouched in her seat. 'Out of all the people in the class I have to have the most nosiest person in the world as my partner.' Sakura thought.  
  
Syaoran also saw the picture and read the brief summary of the little girl. When he discovered that Sakura was his partner, he quickly glanced at Sakura, which was at the other side of the room, and saw her slouching in her seat, looking a little disappointed. His attention on her was distracted when he heard Ms. Vong tell everyone to switch seats and sit next to their partner so they can discuss when they can visit the orphans. Syaoran got out of his seat and walked over to Sakura to sit next to her.  
  
"So when do you think we can visit Wu Deep?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Doesn't matter to me." Sakura simply replied.  
  
"How about three o' clock?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Okay then."  
  
There was a long pause between them until the bell rang for the students to get to their next class.  
  
The rest of the classes were the same as always and then school finally ended.  
  
"So how was class, Sakura?" Tomoyo asked while walking with Sakura back to Tomoyo's house.  
  
"Just as usual, but for health class we have to do this project." Sakura said.  
  
"What do you have to do?"  
  
"We have to be an orphan's brother or sister and we have to have a partner."  
  
"Who's your partner?"  
  
"Syaoran."  
  
"Really? That's interesting."  
  
"Not really. We're going to meet each other at the orphanage at three."  
  
"Okay. Umm. Sakura it's 2:45 right now. I think you should go. The orphanage is about thirty minutes away unless you run there."  
  
"Oh yeah, shit. Ok, bye Tomoyo."  
  
"Do you want me to come with you?"  
  
"No, that's okay." Sakura said and quickly ran to the direction of the orphanage.  
  
When Sakura finally arrived at the orphanage she was panting for air and saw Syaoran already there.  
  
"You're late." Syaoran said.  
  
"I . know." Sakura said between big deep breaths.  
  
"Come on. Let's go inside."  
  
Sakura just followed. They walked into the office and saw a woman sitting in a chair typing on her computer.  
  
"Hello. We're here to see Liu, Wu Deep. We're part of the project done by Ms. Vong in Tokyo High." Syaoran said to the woman.  
  
"Your name, please." The woman said.  
  
"Syaoran Li and this is Sakura Avalon."  
  
The woman typed more things on her computer and said, "Follow me."  
  
They followed her to a big room with at least ten beds on each side of the room. The woman pointed to a little girl sitting on a bed looking at a picture book and then left. Syaoran and Sakura walked up to the little girl.  
  
"Hi. I'm Syaoran Li and this is Sakura Avalon. We're going to be your new brother and sister. Is it okay if I sit next to you?" Syaoran said to the little girl and pointed to Sakura.  
  
"Sure. I'm Wu Deep." The little girl said.  
  
Syaoran sat next to her. Sakura just stood there, staring at the little girl with her arms crossed.  
  
"Well, Wu Deep, what are you looking at?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"A picture book."  
  
"You like picture books, huh?"  
  
"Yeah. I like all the pretty pictures, but some other people scribbled on it." Wu Deep said and pointed on one of the pictures that had red crayon marks all over it.  
  
"You have a really nice name. I notice that Wu Deep means butterfly in Chinese."  
  
"Really? I never knew that."  
  
"Yeah. Do you want to go outside?"  
  
"Sure I do!" Wu Deep said with excitement.  
  
Syaoran took her little hand and walked with her out of the room. Sakura just followed along again. They signed out at the office and walked around the neighborhood.  
  
"Why don't you talk to her?" Syaoran whispered to Sakura so that Wu Deep couldn't hear.  
  
"There's nothing to talk about. Besides you're doing fine without me." Sakura said.  
  
Syaoran was about to say something, until he saw Wu Deep staring at an ice cream store that they just passed by.  
  
"Why don't we get some ice cream?" Syaoran said and walked to the ice cream store still holding Wu Deep's hands and with Sakura following along. " Wu Deep, go stay with Sakura for a moment while I go get some ice cream. What flavor do you like?" Syaoran asked.  
  
When Sakura heard what Syaoran said she quickly whispered "What the hell are you doing?"  
  
"I need to get the ice cream and it's a pretty long line so it might take a while. Now go find a seat and watch Wu Deep for me." Syaoran said.  
  
"Why can't I get the ice cream? I'm not good with kids."  
  
"Well, I have the money."  
  
Sakura couldn't argue anymore.  
  
"I want chocolate chip ice cream." Wu Deep said.  
  
"Okay, what about you Sakura?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"No, thanks." Sakura replied and took Wu Deep's hand gently to an empty table.  
  
"Can I call you Sakura?" Wu Deep asked.  
  
"Sure." Sakura said.  
  
"Why aren't you happy? Am I being a bad girl?"  
  
"No. Why do you say that I'm not happy?"  
  
"Because you're not smiling."  
  
"You're being a good girl."  
  
Wu Deep smiled at that. There was a silent pause and then Sakura asked "Do you remember anything about your parents?"  
  
Wu Deep shook her head no. Sakura felt sorry for this little girl to have not remembered who her parents were.  
  
"My mommy went away." Wu Deep said.  
  
"Mine did, too. But I'm sure our moms are angels right now. They're up in the sky watching over us." Sakura said in a soothing voice.  
  
"Really? Then why can't I see her when I look at the sky?"  
  
"Because they're so far up that we're not able to see them."  
  
"Oh. Come on. I want to go say hi to Mommy in the sky." Wu Deep said getting of the chair and pulling Sakura's hands.  
  
"Okay. Okay. But wait till Syaoran comes back with the ice cream."  
  
"Okay." Wu Deep said with such a cheerful face that Sakura couldn't help but smile a little.  
  
When Syaoran finally got the ice cream he started walking up to where Sakura and Wu Deep was sitting at. While walking he stared at Sakura and noticed something different. He saw Sakura's lips go up a little. She was smiling. He couldn't believe it. She, Sakura, smiling for the very first time, in a long time. He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him so he rubbed his eyes and looked again but this time he saw Sakura's normal emotion on her face. Syaoran just ignored what he thought he saw knowing quite well that Sakura Avalon would never smile. 


	11. The Kiss

Let Me Help You  
  
Chapter 11  
  
The Kiss  
  
(Wu Deep is Siu Deep. My Chinese sucks. So Wu Deep means butterfly not Siu Deep)  
  
"Here's your ice cream, Wu Deep." Syaoran said.  
  
"Thanks." Wu Deep said with a bright smile on her face.  
  
"So where are we going after this?" Sakura asked.  
  
"We can keep on walking around, unless you're tired. We can just go back to the orphanage." Syaoran replied.  
  
"I'm not tired." Sakura said.  
  
"Are you tired, Wu Deep?" Syaoran asked.  
  
Wu Deep just shook her head. So after she was done eating, they decided to keep on walking around. While they were walking around Sakura noticed a store filled with many children's clothes and saw Wu Deep wearing a worn out dress that was too small for her and ripped up sandals.  
  
"Let's go in there." Sakura said pointing to the store.  
  
When they went inside a woman greeted them so cheerfully it almost freaked Sakura out. They walked around the store and looked at many little girls' clothes.  
  
"Umm. what are we doing here?" Wu Deep asked.  
  
"We're going get you some new clothes." Sakura said nonchalantly.  
  
This time it was Syaoran to follow along Sakura while she hold Wu Deep's hand and led her around the store, looking at the clothes. After about three hours of walking around, picking clothes, and trying them on they finally found four outfits and two shoes for Wu Deep. When they bought everything it was already seven o' clock at night and it was almost dark. So they walked back to the orphanage with Syaoran carrying a sleeping Wu Deep on his back. While Sakura and Syaoran were walking back, Syaoran remembered how he thought Sakura actually smiled. He then thought it was ridiculous and chuckled a little. Sakura just stared at him, wondering what's so funny.  
  
"What are you laughing about?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Oh, nothing." Syaoran said and chuckled again.  
  
"No, really. What are you laughing about? Or are you turning insane and laughed for no such reason?"  
  
"Was that a joke I heard coming from Sakura Avalon? The Sakura Avalon?" Syaoran said jokingly.  
  
"You're stupid."  
  
"Well, that's just mean."  
  
"So?"  
  
"Anyway. I was just laughing because while I got the ice cream today I thought I saw you smile a little. Then I realized how ridiculous it was. Since I know full well that you can't possibly smile even if your life depended on it."  
  
"You sure about that?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"No, I heard you say something. What was it?"  
  
"I told you, nothing."  
  
"Sure."  
  
"You don't believe me?"  
  
"Sure, I do."  
  
"Mmm.hmmm."  
  
"I do."  
  
"Yeah. Whatever you say."  
  
"You know what, I give up. You win."  
  
"I have no idea what you're talking about."  
  
"Sure, you don't."  
  
"I don't."  
  
When they finally ended their little conversation they stopped in front of the orphanage.  
  
"Hey, I can bring Wu Deep in. It's getting dark. You should be getting back home. Your dad might get. Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to mention your dad." Syaoran said.  
  
"It's okay. Well then, I guess I'll be going then. Bye." Sakura said.  
  
"Bye."  
  
~ The next day at school ~  
  
"Hey, Sakura! I forgot to ask you yesterday. What time are we going to see Wu Deep again?" Syaoran asked after the second period.  
  
"I don't know. How about the same time as yesterday?" Sakura said.  
  
"Okay."  
  
"I thought you said there's nothing between you two and yet I see you together every time." Kim said to Sakura with her group of friends right behind her.  
  
"Do we have to go through this every single time?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Only until you admit that you want Syaoran. But it really doesn't matter that you do, because I'm going to get him before you do."  
  
"Umm. I hope you know that I'm right here." Syaoran said.  
  
"Yeah, I know. Don't worry. I'll get this slut away from you as soon as possible."  
  
"Like you can. And the only slut here is you and your friends. I'm leaving." Sakura said and tuned away.  
  
"Look you're already running away from me, knowing that I'm going to get Syaoran and you're not." Kim said to Sakura's back.  
  
"Oh my God, I'm just right here!" Syaoran said unbelieving what he's hearing.  
  
Sakura couldn't stand Kim anymore. She turned back around and said, "I've told you millions of times that I don't even want him. Since telling you that won't make you stop bothering me maybe if I do the exact opposite then you'll stop bothering me." After Sakura said that she walked in front of Syaoran and kissed him.  
  
"Are you going to stop bothering me now?" Sakura asked right after that little incident happened.  
  
"Oh my God. I can't believe you just did that? Did everyone see that? I told you she was a slut just like her mom." Kim said.  
  
When Sakura heard Kim talk about her mother like that she went into rage. She slapped her so hard that Kim dropped to the ground with a small trail of blood coming from her mouth and a big red hand mark on her face.  
  
"Don't you ever and I mean ever talk about my mother like that." Sakura said between clenched teeth.  
  
Kim looked up at Sakura from the ground with fright in her eyes. She has never seen Sakura so angry before. Then Sakura walked away to her next class with Syaoran following behind her still shocked at what Sakura did before she hit Kim.  
  
After Syaoran recovered from the shocking incident he asked, "Are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm sorry about what just happened there." Sakura said a little calmer now.  
  
"No problem."  
  
There was a little silence walking to their next class. Syaoran was thinking about the time when Sakura kissed him. He felt Sakura's soft lips touched his and it felt right to him, but he knew that Sakura probably didn't feel the same.  
  
After third period was their health class and they had to turn in their journal. Then their teacher passed out a sheet of paper to them.  
  
"You have to fill this paper out. They're questions about the orphan. You have to tell me what's their favorite food, least favorite food, favorite color, least favorite color, etc. I don't expect you to answer all of these questions today, but it has to be completely filled out by the time this project ended. I want you to start filling some of the questions out right now. I forgot to tell you yesterday that there's another part of this project, too. You need to do a poster board that's filled with pictures of you, your partner, and the orphan. You and your partner would be doing the poster board together. On the poster board there should also be a description about the orphan and the information on that paper must be on the poster. The poster has to be at least 18" by 25" big. You must do the poster or it's an automatic zero for this whole project. It's due also on May 31. Any questions?" Ms. Yong said.  
  
A boy in the class raised his hand.  
  
"Yes?" Ms. Yong asked.  
  
"Well, the prom is in two weeks. Do we have to go to the orphanage on that day?" the boy asked.  
  
"Oh yes. Thanks for reminding me. No, you don't have to go to the orphanage on your prom. But if you do stay with the orphan for three hours then you get extra credit. If there's no more questions then get started on your worksheet."  
  
Nobody asked anymore questions and they started on the worksheet.  
  
By the time everyone answered as many questions as they could it was already time for lunch. Syaoran walked to the tree next to the basketball court where his friends are.  
  
"Hey, Syaoran. Heard that Sakura girl kissed you today." One of Syaoran's friends, Colin, said.  
  
"Yeah. Nobody has ever gotten her to kiss anyone before. So what's the secret?" another one of his friends, Joshua, said.  
  
"You're all crazy." Syaoran said with a slight blush on his cheeks.  
  
"Come on, Syaoran. How was it like?" Douglas, Colin's twin brother, asked.  
  
"I really can't believe I'm friends with you guys." Syaoran said.  
  
"Oh, did you see Xander's face when he found out? It was hilarious. He came from confused to shock to furious. He looked like he was about to rip some guy's head out. It was priceless." Joshua said.  
  
"Of course. What do you expect? He's been trying to get her since I think freshman year, but she's always turned him down. I see him picking on this little kid right after she cusses him out. It's pretty sad actually." Douglas said.  
  
"More pathetic than sad. The guy never knows when to give up. If I were Sakura I'd probably be about to kill him. I mean he comes up to her almost everyday trying to get her to like him. That's almost worst than torture." Colin said.  
  
"I feel sorry for her. Having to put up with that almost everyday." Douglas said.  
  
"He's more pathetic than the other girls trying to get with Syaoran." Colin said.  
  
Everyone started laughing knowing that there were many girls who asked Syaoran to go to the prom with them but he turned all of them down.  
  
"Hey, speaking of the girls, here comes some now." Joshua pointed out seeing Kim with her group of girls.  
  
"Hi, Syaoran." Kim said with her sweetest smile she could muster up but the smile looked more like a smirk than a smile.  
  
"Hey." Syaoran said.  
  
"The prom is in two weeks. Did you notice?" Kim said.  
  
"Yeah. Sort of."  
  
Syaoran's friends were behind him staring at them.  
  
"I was just wondering if you'd like to go with me to the prom. I know its sort of lame of it might be fun."  
  
"I don't think so."  
  
Syaoran's friends were trying their best not to laugh and Colin made a little chuckle.  
  
Kim stared at Colin with her disgusted look and smiled back at Syaoran. "Oh well, can I ask why?" Kim said.  
  
'What should I say? I can't tell her, because I hate you.' Syaoran thought.  
  
"Well.um. I'm thinking of asking somebody else." Syaoran said.  
  
"Oh. Well I hope it's not Sakura. She only kissed you to try to get me jealous. Not that it worked. Anyway. I'll be going now, bye."  
  
"Yeah. Bye."  
  
After Kim left Syaoran's friends burst into laughter.  
  
"Dude, Syaoran. You should really take lessons from Sakura. Then you could cuss her out. It would give us a better show." Colin said while laughing.  
  
Syaoran stared at them like they were idiots but gave a slight chuckle.  
  
"Did you see Kim's face when I laughed? Now that was hilarious." Colin said.  
  
Everyone started laughing again.  
  
"But Syaoran who are you taking to the prom?" Douglas asked.  
  
"I don't know." Syaoran said.  
  
"Quit lying. It's obvious that you're going to ask Sakura. You've been hanging around her since you came here. But you're going to get your ass dumped. She wouldn't go out with anyone. She'd never go to a dance unless her friend, Daidouji, asked her to. So when are you going to pop the question?" Joshua asked.  
  
"Yeah, you've got to admit she is kind of hot. She surely has a great body. The only problem with her is her attitude. She got major issues with her anger." Douglas said.  
  
"Hey, you'd know why she's like that if you just got to know her." Syaoran said with a tint of anger in his voice.  
  
"Okay, sorry. Forget I said that. So by what you said, I'm guessing that you know why she's so unhappy." Douglas said.  
  
"So?" Syaoran said.  
  
"So why is she?" Joshua asked also wondering why.  
  
"I have never known how nosy you guys are until now." Syaoran said.  
  
"Come on, you guys. It's obvious he's not going to tell us." Colin said.  
  
"Okay, but when are you going to ask her? The prom is in two weeks." Joshua said.  
  
"I don't know. Besides it's not like she's going to say yes to anyone if someone does ask her to go with them." Syaoran said.  
  
"Oh, so you're saying you are going to ask her." Douglas said.  
  
"You guys are truly insane." Syaoran said.  
  
After school ended Syaoran looked at the mail and saw a letter that caught his eyes. The letter was from Fujitaka Kinomoto. He quickly ripped open the letter and read it.  
  
"Dear Mr. Syaoran Li,  
I've put your words into consideration and I've given it a lot of thought. I have to admit this information took me by surprise. I'm still not convinced that you're story is true, but I'm willing to get a blood test. You said that my so-called daughter, Sakura, doesn't know that you've written a letter to me. So I'm curious on how we're going to get a blood test if she has no clue that we're in contact. I'm wondering if we could get the blood test on May 24. If she is my daughter I'm willing to take full custody of her. I would like a reply.  
  
Sincerely,  
Fujitaka Kinomoto" 


	12. Ritual, Letter, and Neighbor

Let Me Help You  
Chapter 12  
Ritual, Letter, and Neighbor  
  
After Syaoran finished reading the letter he quickly went up to his room and took a sheet of paper out. He wrote:  
  
Dear Mr. Fujitaka Kinomoto,  
  
I'm glad that you're willing to take a blood test. I'm pretty sure that May 24 is okay to take it. I'll try my best to convince Sakura to take the blood test and I will tell her at the right time. Please reply back and let me know where to take the blood test.  
  
Sincerely,  
Syaoran Li  
  
He reread the letter to make sure it was okay. He then went to the orphanage noticing that it was time for him to meet with Sakura leaving the letter on his desk. When he arrived at the orphanage Sakura was already there.  
  
"Sorry, I had to do something." Syaoran apologized.  
  
"Let's just go in." Sakura simply said.  
  
When they went to Wu Deep's room they saw her wearing one of the dresses they bought for her that was blue and filled with pink flowers at the side of it. She looked really adorable in that dress but the expression on her face was sad.  
  
"Hey, Wu Deep. Are you okay? Why are you so sad?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"Today is the day when my daddy died?" Wu Deep said sadly.  
  
"I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do for you?" Syaoran said with sympathy.  
  
Wu Deep shook her head no. "They put my daddy away at my old home." She said.  
  
"You mean at China?"  
  
She nodded. Syaoran felt really sorry for her. Then he remembered a type of ritual that his parents use to do, to give respects his ancestors.  
  
"Why don't we go out to buy some things. I've got an idea that would allow you to sort of communicate with your parents." Syaoran said.  
  
"I thought you can't talk to people that are already dead." Wu Deep said.  
  
"Well it's almost like it. Come on." Syaoran said holding out his hands.  
  
Wu Deep took it and they walked out of the orphanage with Sakura following behind. They went to a Chinese store and walked around. Syaoran held a basket and placed fruits, incense, rice, raw fish and chicken, some Chinese paper with designs on it, paper that looked like money, and tea in it along wit some candy for Wu Deep. He bought the things and took them to his house. Wu deep and Sakura were completely confused. They had no idea what he was doing. Syaoran placed all the things in his kitchen and gave the bag of candy to Wu Deep.  
  
"Syaoran, what the hell are you doing?" Sakura finally asked without letting Wu Deep hear.  
  
"I have to get ready for the ritual thing first. It'll take awhile so just sit down, watch TV, or play with Wu Deep while you're waiting. Just keep Wu Deep company. Now get out of the kitchen." Syaoran replied.  
  
Sakura didn't know what to do. She took Wu Deep into his living room.  
  
"Do you want to watch TV?" Sakura asked.  
  
Wu Deep shook her head.  
  
"Well, do you have anything in mind? Syaoran's in the kitchen right now doing some things and it'll take awhile."  
  
"Can you read me a book?" Wu Deep asked.  
  
"Okay. I can do that. Just wait while I go get a book." Sakura said nervously. She really wasn't good with kids. Sakura walked in front of a shelf filled with many books, but she didn't find any that was fit for a six year old girl.  
  
"Syaoran, do you have any children's books here?" Sakura asked after giving up on looking at the shelf.  
  
"I don't think so. Oh, there's one in my room. It's inside my desk. Just open the first drawer and you'll see it in there. I think it was The Ugly Duckling." Syaoran replied.  
  
"The ugly duckling?" Sakura asked wondering why he has a book like that.  
  
"Hey, The Ugly Duckling is a cool book. It was my favorite children's book. Don't make fun of it." Syaoran defended.  
  
"Yeah, sure. Whatever." Sakura said trying to hold her laughter.  
  
She went in his room and saw a desk next to his bed. When she found the book she started walking back to the living room but noticed that she dropped a piece of paper. She picked it up and was curious when she saw her name on it. Sakura saw it was to Fujitaka Kinomoto and the name sound familiar. She then remembered that it was the name of her biological father. She kept on reading the letter and was confused.  
  
"Hey, Sakura. Did you find the book alright?" Syaoran said coming into the room. He saw her holding onto a letter and immediately knew what it was.  
  
"What is this, Syaoran?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Sakura, I can explain." Syaoran said.  
  
"How do you know him? What do you mean by a blood test?"  
  
"Calm down Sakura. I can explain. But please not now. Not when Wu Deep is here. I'll explain everything after she's gone."  
  
Sakura knew that it wouldn't be good for Wu Deep to hear them arguing and agreed to continue this after. She walked out of the room, but when she walked past Syaoran she said "You better think up of a good excuse or I won't talk to you ever again."  
  
She walked back to the living room and started reading to Wu Deep. Syaoran went back to the kitchen and continued preparing the ritual thing. 'What should I do? She found out that I was having contact with her biological father. How am I supposed to give her a good excuse?' Syaoran thought to himself.  
  
Thirty minutes later Syaoran was ready and it was already dark. He went in the living room and found Wu Deep sleeping on Sakura's lap.  
  
"I'm ready." Syaoran whispered to Sakura.  
  
"Well, she's sleeping. So what do you want me to do?" Sakura said emotionlessly to Syaoran. Her eyes were still filled with anger.  
  
"Umm. I can just wake her up." Syaoran said and shook Wu Deep a little.  
  
Wu Deeps eyes fluttered a little bit and she woke up.  
  
"Are you ready to talk to sort of talk to your parents?" Syaoran asked her.  
  
Wu Deep nodded and stood up. Syaoran took Wu Deep and Sakura to the front of his house where there was a small table in front of them. In the table were plated filled with fruits, cooked fish and chicken, a bowl filled with rice, red candles that's already lit up and stuck onto a small bowl filled with sand, three small cups filled with tea, and incense. There was a big metal bucket on the floor, too, and the Chinese paper and fake money next to it.  
  
"What's all this for?" Wu Deep asked.  
  
"When I was little, my parents would have all these things set up and we would light up the incense and pray to our ancestors. While we're praying we wish for them to keep us healthy and smart. That's sort of a way to communicate with them. After we pray we spill the three cups of tea on the floor as a way to give them something to drink. Then we burn all those Chinese paper and the fake money and put them in the bucket so they would have a good life and are rich in their afterlife." Syaoran tried to explain.  
  
Wu Deep was completely confused. She had no idea what he was talking about and Syaoran noticed that.  
  
"Here I'll lead you through it." Syaoran said.  
  
He lit up the incense with a lighter and blew the fire out. Then he gave it to Wu Deep.  
  
"Now you hold the incense in your hand and pray. While you're praying you can say whatever you want to your parents. When you're done then you can give the incense to me and I'll stick it in the little cup that's filled with sand." Syaoran instructed.  
  
Wu Deep did what she was told and was trying to think what to say to her parents.  
  
"Hi, Mommy, Daddy. I miss you so much and I really wish you were here right now with me. But don't worry about me because I have Syaoran and Sakura with me. They're my new friends and they're really nice. I'll make sure I'll be a good girl and not get into trouble. I'll do well in school and make you proud of me." Wu Deep said and gave the incense back to Syaoran right after.  
  
Syaoran took it and placed it in the cup. Then he poured the tea on the floor and lit up the Chinese paper and fake money and placed it in the bucket to let it burn in there.  
  
"Now pray to your parents again." Syaoran said.  
  
Wu Deep did what she was told and after that they carried the things back inside the house. After the paper was completely burnt he puts out the fire and dumped the scraps away.  
  
"How do we know that Mommy and Daddy got what I was saying?" Wu Deep asked.  
  
"Don't worry. They know." Syaoran said.  
  
"We should get her back to the orphanage now." Sakura said.  
  
"Yeah we should." Syaoran agreed.  
  
He took Wu Deep back to the orphanage but before they said bye to her Wu Deep said, "Thank you, Syaoran. I'm happy that I could talk to my mommy and daddy."  
  
Then she left to the orphanage. "That really was a nice thing you did for her, Syaoran." Sakura said.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"But I still need and explanation. Why were you sending letters to him?"  
  
"I just wanted to help you out."  
  
"What? Did I ever ask for your help? 'Cause I'm pretty sure I didn't. I don't need your help. I can handle things myself. Who told you about him anyway? Was it Tomoyo?"  
  
"You may not need my help but still. I'm your friend. I want you to be happy. You biological dad said that he's willing to take a blood test to see if you're really his daughter. If you really are then he's willing to have you as a part of his family. Don't you want that?"  
  
"What? Really?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"But it's not that simple. He may be willing but what if he doesn't like me or what if he's even worst than Da-. Nick?"  
  
"You won't know if you don't even try to get to know him. Maybe he's a lot better. Maybe he'll love you. Why wouldn't he? I'm sure he'll love you."  
  
"But how are you so sure?.I don't care. You better not send anymore letters to him. If you do I swear I'm going to kill you." Sakura said and left to go back home leaving Syaoran still in front of the orphanage.  
  
When Sakura got back home she went to Tomoyo's room.  
  
"Tomoyo, how could you tell him?" Sakura said.  
  
"What are you talking about? Tell who what?" Tomoyo asked confused.  
  
"How could you tell Syaoran about my biological father?"  
  
"How'd you find out?"  
  
"Answer me, Tomoyo!"  
  
"I thought he could help you find your biological father. I didn't want you to be sad without your parents. I thought that you would be happy if you found your real father."  
  
"So you thought telling Syaoran about him behind my back would make me happy? I thought you were supposed to be my friend. I confided in you and told you everything and you go tell Syaoran. I trusted in you again and you betrayed me again. How am I suppose to trust you ever again?" Sakura said and went to her room.  
  
"What are you doing?" Tomoyo asked when she saw Sakura packing her things.  
  
"I'm leaving. I can't live in a house with a person that I can't even trust." Sakura said.  
  
"But where can you go? You can't go to your dad's house."  
  
"I'll go anywhere away from you." Sakura said and took he stuff, about to leave until Tomoyo stopped her.  
  
"I'm sorry, Sakura. I'm really sorry. But please don't go. You have no where else to go. Please, just stay. I'm sorry."  
  
"No, Tomoyo. I trusted you again and you betrayed my trust again. I'm never going to trust you again."  
  
Sakura quickly left the house. She ran and ran so Tomoyo couldn't catch up. Sakura wasn't sure where she was to go. When she stopped running she was at the Penguin Park. She knew there was no where she could go and she was really tired so she decided to just stay under the Penguin. All of a sudden it started to rain really hard. "Fuck! Why does all of this have to happen to me?" Sakura said. Now Sakura was wet, cold, homeless, and hungry for she remembered that she hasn't eaten anything for a long time.  
  
While Sakura was sitting under the penguin a man about twenty to twenty-five years old was walking through the park and saw her. He walked over to her and said, "Miss, why aren't you at home? It's raining right now. Your parents might be worried about you."  
  
Sakura looked up at the man and he seemed familiar. The she finally recognized him. "Yukito? Yukito, is that you?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Yeah, that's me. How do you know me? Have we seen each other somewhere?" the man called Yukito said.  
  
"Don't you remember me? I'm Sakura. Sakura Avalon."  
  
Yukito thought that for awhile and then he remembered who she was.  
  
"Sakura, why are you here?"  
  
"Oh my God! I'm so glad you're here." Sakura said and hugged her.  
  
"Yeah. Hey I'll take you to my house. Come on. You must be freezing."  
  
Yukito took Sakura to his house. Yukito was Sakura's neighbor until Nadesiko died and they had to move. Even though the last time Sakura saw him was when she was five years old, she could still recognize his light gray hair, silver eyes, and glasses.  
  
"Sakura what were you doing under there anyway?" Yukito asked and placed a blanket over Sakura's wet body.  
  
"Thanks. Look I'm really tired right now and I'm really glad you showed up. Is it okay if I explain later and go to sleep?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess it's okay. You can sleep in the one of the guestrooms. I'll go get you some clothes to sleep in."  
  
"Thanks for everything."  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
When Yukito got some clothes for Sakura to sleep in, Sakura laid down on the bed and quickly fell asleep. 


	13. Help From a Neighbor

Let Me Help You  
Ch 13 Help From a Neighbor  
  
(Just for everyone to know that this is not going to be a Yukito/Sakura fanfic, it's supposed to be Syaoran/Sakura fanfic. I'm sorry for the long, long, long update. I'm just trying really hard to make this fanfic not as corny as it already sounds, since I'm the worst writer in the world.)  
  
Sakura woke up and found herself in an unfamiliar bed then she remembered what happened the previous night. She didn't feel like getting up and stayed inside the comfortable bed. Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door and Yukito came in with a tray of food in his hands.  
  
"Hey, Sakura. I see you're awake. I brought you some breakfast." Yukito said.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"What happened to you, anyway? The last time I saw you were when you moved out 'cause your dad got fired. How is Mr. Avalon?"  
  
"He's alive and healthy I think."  
  
"You think?"  
  
"He disowned me."  
  
"What? Why? What happened?"  
  
"It's a long story."  
  
"Well, I don't have work today and I don't have anything else to do. You can go ahead and tell me."  
  
Sakura hesitated at first, but decided to tell him what happened, but left out what her biological father's name was. Yukito found everything very amazing and couldn't believe Mr. Avalon would do all the things that she said.  
  
"But Sakura, I don't think you should be so mad at Tomoyo. I mean she only did that to help you. Don't you think your friendship is better than that? She's been there for you since you were really little and she might actually be able to help you find your real father. Don't you, yourself, want to know who he is?" Yukito said.  
  
"Of course I do. But I told her before that I don't want Syaoran a part of this. He has nothing to do with this." Sakura said.  
  
"He probably knows that already, but he wants to be your friend and help you. Let him help you. You don't really have anything to lose."  
  
"Yes, I do. I might lose my dad."  
  
"I think you already have."  
  
What Yukito said made her think. She thought about it and he was right. In a way she did already lose him. Before her mom died he was kind and loving, but now he's cruel and mean like a different person. There's probably nothing she could do to change him back to the way he was.  
  
"Well, it's a Friday morning and I assume that u have school today. How about I drive you to your school unless you don't feel good from yesterday?" Yukito said.  
  
"No, I feel fine."  
  
"Alright then. All your stuff is in the corner, so you can change your clothes or whatever and go to the kitchen when you're done." Yukito pointed at a corner in the room and then left to let Sakura change.  
  
When Sakura was ready she went to the kitchen and found Yukito sitting down on the couch reading the newspaper.  
  
"Is it okay if you drive me to school right now?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Sure, let me just get my keys." Yukito placed the newspaper down on the coffee table and went to get the keys. The drive to school was quiet for Sakura didn't really want to say anything. Yukito could tell and didn't mind the silence. They arrived at the front of the school and Sakura got out of the car.  
  
"Thanks a lot Yukito. Umm...Is it okay if I stay at your house for a couple of days or something? If you say no it's totally understandable." Sakura asked.  
  
"It's alright. You can stay as long as you want. Just promise me that you'll be friends with Tomoyo again. She just wanted to help you." Yukito said.  
  
"Okay, bye."  
  
"Bye. I'll pick you up after school. What time does it end?"  
  
"Two-thirty."  
  
"Okay. I'll see you later then." Yukito said and drove away.  
  
Sakura stood in front of the gates until she couldn't see Yukito's car anymore. She walked to her class and noticed a lot of people staring at her. Everyone probably heard about her accidentally kissing Syaoran. She thought back at what she did and she realized what a complete idiot she was. She didn't even know why she did it. She completely overreacted that time, besides from slapping Kim. Kim deserved that slap for talking shit about her mom, though. Sakura got to her class and sat down at her seat still having people staring at her.  
  
Where Tomoyo was   
  
"What's the matter, Tomoyo? You look so sad today," one of Tomoyo's friends, Julia, asked.  
  
"Yeah, you seemed so bummed." also one of Tomoyo's friends, Rebecca, added.  
  
"I'm fine. I'm just worried about Sakura." Tomoyo said.  
  
"I don't get why you care so much about that Sakura girl. I mean she's the meanest girl in school and the only friend she has is you and she keep on making you worry about her. You're just too kind Tomoyo. You should follow my footsteps and just ignore her. She doesn't deserve your friendship." Julia said.  
  
"You don't even know her. She's really not that mean. She just isolates herself a lot. She's really a good friend. What kind of friend would I be if I ignore her? I'll be worse than you say she is." Tomoyo said getting a little annoyed.  
  
"So are you saying I'm not a good person?" Julia asked.  
  
"I'm just saying that you should try to get to know a person before you judge them."  
  
"Well, for your information I have said hello to her before and she ignored me, so I'm ignoring her."  
  
"When have you ever said hello to her?"  
  
"I...It was a long time ago. I forgot when it was. But I remember I said hi to her and she just ignored me completely."  
  
"Right. I'm going to class." Tomoyo said pissed off and left.  
  
Syaoran walked to his classroom and decided not to talk to Sakura for a while. He knew she had the right to be mad at him since he did get in contact with her biological father without her knowing it. He sat down behind her and saw her just staring out the window.  
  
"So how much information did you gathered about my biological father?" Syaoran heard Sakura say. He was taken aback by her sudden willingness to talk to him and in a calm voice too.  
  
"Umm... he said he'll be willing to meet with you and take a blood test to check if you are really his daughter." Syaoran said.  
  
"When is that?"  
  
"On May 24."  
  
"Why is it that you're so interested in my life?"  
  
"Well... I don't know. I just noticed how sad you were and I know it's not your fault for anything that has happened to you. I guess I just don't want to see you so unhappy and I thought that reuniting you with your biological father would make you happy. I've never seen anyone as unhappy as you and I want to see you smile like you did when you were young."  
  
"So you pity me. That's strange. I always thought that I was ungrateful. I mean my life isn't that bad once I think about it. It's not like I'm really poor that I'm starving and homeless. I have a friend that cares about me a lot and I still have a father. Yet, I'm still so unhappy. Shouldn't I be glad that I have all these things?"  
  
"You have the right to be sad. Not many people have such a hard life like you. Your father...or Nick abused you. He disowned you. He did all these things to you and that's not right."  
  
"But don't you know that at least fifty million other people are going through the same thing as I am and maybe even worst? You don't see all those fifty million people moping around like I am. Why can't I be like them? Why can't I just be happy?"  
  
"You can if you try. I can help you. I will help you find happiness. So go take the blood test and I have no doubt about it that you're his daughter. He'll let you into his family and you'll be happy."  
  
"But what if he doesn't? What if he doesn't want me? Or what if he's even worse than Nick? That's what I'm afraid of."  
  
"Well, you won't know unless you take the risk. Don't you want to know how your biological father really is? I would love to know who my father is if I had the chance. You have a chance to know who your father is and yet you don't want to take it. I just don't want you to regret it for the rest of your life."  
  
Suddenly the bell rang for class to start and the teacher started to teach the class. Sakura faced the front of the room and looked at the teacher while Syaoran was wondering how she can stand not knowing whom her father is and he was amazed that they actually had a civilized conversation for once.  
  
After class ended, everyone left and walked to their next classroom.  
  
"Alright, I'll give it a chance. I'll go take the blood test and everything." Sakura said to Syaoran.  
  
"Really? You are?" Syaoran said, shocked.  
  
"Yeah. When you know where and what time tell me and I'll be there."  
  
"Sure thing. You won't regret this Sakura. I promise you."  
  
"I hope not."  
  
Break   
Sakura was walking around the school trying to find Tomoyo. She felt so stupid, always yelling at her just because she wanted to help. Sakura really want to make it up to her, now. Tomoyo is such a good friend and she keeps on taking it for granted. She realized what a bitch she could be towards her and yet she's still there for her.  
  
When Sakura saw Tomoyo under the cherry tree where they usually hang out at, she walked towards her.  
  
"Oh my God, Tomoyo, I'm so sorry for everything. I overreacted. You were just trying to help me. I swear I won't be like this ever again." Sakura said hugging Tomoyo as she got to her.  
  
"It's okay Sakura. I should've told you about everything sooner." Tomoyo said.  
  
"I should make it up to. How about we go to the mall together? We haven't done that for a long time."  
  
"That'll be great! I can buy you all these accessories for the prom."  
  
"Umm... Yeah, sure. So after school at around 3? Actually, Yukito is going to come pick me up after school maybe he could take us to the mall."  
  
"Yukito? You mean your old next door neighbor, Yukito?"  
  
"Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you. After I left your house, he saw me in the rain and took me to his house."  
  
"Did he recognize you?"  
  
"Of course he did. Why else would he take me to his house?"  
  
"Well he's always been really nice. I wouldn't be surprised if he took in a person that he didn't even know. Or that's how I remembered him from the last time I saw him."  
  
"Well, he did. I told him what happened... about everything. He's still the same old Yukito. Always understanding. He didn't change at all, only got taller.  
  
"Wow. Talk about a small world. Yeah, okay after school around 3 we're going to the mall and no backing out. I'll meet you at the parking lot after school."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Where Syaoran was   
"Hey, did you ask Sakura to the dance yet?" Douglas asked.  
  
"Not yet." Syaoran replied.  
  
"Do you want me to do it for you? You're taking way too long."  
  
"What are you so eager about?"  
  
"Hey, I just want to see if you got the flow to get her to go to the dance with you. Not a crime is it?"  
  
"I don't know if I'm going to ask her now. She's been mad at me lately."  
  
"Isn't she always mad at you?"  
  
"Yeah, but she's mad at me for a different reason."  
  
"What did you do? Tried to kiss her?"  
  
"No. I'm not stupid. I just did something that pissed her off. That's all."  
  
"Well, I saw Sakura talking to Tomoyo and she didn't seem angry. If you did the thing for her benefit and she knows that, I'm sure she'll understand. You say that she's actually pretty nice, so she won't be mad at you forever. Give it a try and ask her. I heard that she's really going since Tomoyo made her go. You have a chance, a big one at that. You're probably the only guy that she ever talked to and didn't whoop his ass. Don't miss out on something you have a chance on."  
  
"Yeah, I guess. Thanks."  
  
"Well, I'm just full of wisdom." Douglas said with a big smirk on his face as if he made a big accomplishment.  
  
"Hahaha...and yet you have C's in your classes."  
  
"Hey, I never said I was smart. I said I was wise. There's a difference."  
  
"Hahaha...whatever. Whom are you going with anyways?"  
  
"Oh I don't know. Someone. All you need to worry about is Sakura. I'll handle my stuff. If you want to know who it is then you better ask Sakura to the dance and make sure she goes with you."  
  
"You're just full of mystery, aren't you?"  
  
"Oh yeah."  
  
Heath Class   
"Today you will all continue filling out the questions about your orphan, so get with your partner and start working on it." Ms. Vong said.  
  
While the teacher was saying that, Syaoran was wondering whether or not to ask Sakura to the dance now.  
  
"Syaoran...Syaoran...Syaoran!"  
  
"What?" Syaoran was so busy thinking he didn't notice Sakura was calling his name.  
  
"You have the paper. Maybe you should take it out so we can start on it."  
  
"Oh yeah." Syaoran took the paper out thinking of how stupid he must have looked just staring into space.  
  
'I'll just ask her after school.' Syaoran thought.  
  
After School   
  
"Sakura! Hey, wait up." Syaoran said trying to catch up to Sakura.  
  
Sakura stopped walking and turned around.  
  
"Yeah?" Sakura said.  
  
"You know how the prom is about a week from now." Syaoran said a little nervous.  
  
"Yeah. So what?"  
  
"Well, I don't know many girls here..."  
  
Sakura raised her eyebrows in disbelief knowing that almost every girl had asked him to go to the prom with them. He just said that he didn't know many girls here and yet many girls know him.  
  
"Don't give me that look, its true."  
  
"Whatever. As you were saying?"  
  
"Well, I was wondering if you would like to go to the prom with me. Who knows, maybe we'll have fun at the prom together."  
  
There was a long pause until finally Sakura said, "I'll think about it."  
  
"Cool. Take as long as you want. Let me know when you find out, alright?" Syaoran said as he walked away.  
  
Sakura met up with Tomoyo at the parking lot.  
  
"Hey, I saw you talking with Syaoran and I didn't hear screaming. What happened?" Tomoyo said.  
  
"Umm... nothing much."  
  
"Nothings much as in...? Something should have happened. When Syaoran talks to you something always happens."  
  
"That's not true. Anyways, he only asked if I could go to the prom with him that's all."  
  
"Only asked if you could go to the prom with him? What do you mean only? This is a big deal. What did you say? You better have said yes."  
  
"Wow. Tomoyo, I never knew you were so nosy."  
  
"Don't try changing the subject. What did you say?" Tomoyo said with a smirk.  
  
"I said I'd think about it. It's not that big of a deal."  
  
"Of course it is. This would be your first dance with a date and with Syaoran, too. I can just picture it now." Tomoyo said starry eyed.  
  
"God, you make me sound so much like a loser." Sakura said pretending to be hurt.  
  
"Of course you're not. You're just antisocial. That's all. Now I really have to buy a lot of things at the mall. This is great. Oh man, I'm so excited."  
  
"You seem to be more eager than me. I didn't say I'd go with him. I said maybe."  
  
"Of course you'll go. You have to go with him."  
  
"Why do I have to go with him?"  
  
"Because I said so."  
  
"Oh, what a great reason."  
  
Yukito's car drove up in front of them.  
  
"Hey, Tomoyo. Is that you? Wow, you grew a lot." Yukito said as he saw Tomoyo.  
  
"Yup. Hey, Yukito. Sakura told me what happened. You're still as kind as ever." Tomoyo said.  
  
"I'm flattered. Do you need a ride, too?"  
  
"Actually, I was wondering if you could take us to the mall. We have some catching up to do. Is that okay?" Sakura said.  
  
"Yeah. That's fine. So I see you guys had made up. That's good. I have to go to the post office anyways. Hop in and I'll drop you off at the mall."  
  
Sakura and Tomoyo got into his car and they drove off.  
  
"Thanks a lot, Yukito. What brings you here anyways?" Tomoyo said.  
  
"I had a promotion and I had to move to here. I've been here for a month now. This is a pretty nice place." Yukito replied.  
  
"What do you work as?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"I do engineering. Nice pay, nice boss, good co-workers. So I'm happy in my life right now."  
  
"Who's your boss?"  
  
"This guy called Fujitaka Kinomoto. I'm a friend with his son, Touya. They're both pretty nice."  
  
As Sakura and Tomoyo heard the name Fujitaka Kinomoto, they both looked at each other.  
  
"Did you say Fujitaka Kinomoto?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Yeah. Do you know him? He's pretty rich and has a nice family. I went to his house before to eat. His house is huge and they have good food there, too."  
  
"I don't know him. I think I heard of his name, though." Sakura said.  
  
"I see. Well, we're here at the mall. Do you want me to pick you up after you're done?"  
  
"Actually, if Sakura doesn't mind. Maybe I could tell someone to come and pick us up and then we can drive to your house and get Sakura's stuff. She can stay with me since I have so many spare rooms at my house." Tomoyo said.  
  
"Really, Tomoyo? You want me to stay at your house?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Yup. Unless you don't want to, then I understand."  
  
"Of course. Is that all right, Yukito? I don't have to bother you anymore." Sakura said.  
  
"There's no bother, but if you want to stay at her house it's fine. Let me give you my address so you can come to my house when you guys are done." Yukito said as he took out a piece of paper and a pen. He wrote down his address and handed it to Tomoyo.  
  
"I'll see you guys later then. Bye." Yukito said and left. 


End file.
